Marquez to make racing return at France

Spanish superstar Marc Marquez will make his racing return on the #93 Repsol Honda at this weekend’s French Grand Prix.

The six-time MotoGP world champion has been out of action since the opening round in Portugal when he broke the first metacarpal in his right hand.

Marquez sustained this injury after sparking a heavy shunt with Miguel Oliveira at the season opener and has been recovering in the seven weeks since.

After missing out on the action at Argentina, Texas and Spain, the 59-time Grand Prix winner is raring to go racing again at what will be the 1000th MotoGP race at Le Mans.

“I am really happy to be back with the Repsol Honda Team, about to ride my bike again,” Marquez said. 

“First of all I want to thank my medical team for their professionalism and advice over the past few weeks. 

“Of course as a rider you always want to be back as soon as possible, but with an injury like this it was really important to allow it to heal. 

“Now I am here and fully focused on riding, I have no worries about the injury since it’s fully healed. 

“Let’s see what the French GP brings and most importantly, work to our maximum.”

In a further boost for Marquez, he also heard the news he will not have to serve the double long lap penalty he received for his part in the crash with Oliveira at Portimao.

The return of the the star Spaniard is a rare dose of positive news for Repsol Honda in 2023.

In Marquez’s absence, the historically prolific team has struggled to even score points so far.

The team sits an embarrassing last in the teams championship with just 12 points collected from the first four races, 101 less than leaders VR46 Racing Team.

Marquez’s full-time teammate Joan Mir has wrestled with his Honda RC213V and suffered many falls with his P11 at Portugal the only finish.

The substitutes Stefan Bradl and Iker Lecuona also struggled to find any pace at short notice with a top result of 14th.

But with its star rider Marquez returning and showing speed on the Honda RC213V by taking Portugal pole, Repsol Honda hopes to kick its spluttering 2023 into gear at what will be a famous French Grand Prix this weekend.

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