Marc Marquez passed fit, will skip Friday practice

Marc Marquez will attempt to compete in this weekend’s Andalucia MotoGP just days after undergoing surgery on his broken arm, it has been confirmed. 

The Spaniard fractured his right humerus in an accident during Sunday’s Spanish MotoGP, the break occurring when he was glanced by his Repsol Honda as he was tumbling through the gravel, going under the knife in Barcelona on Tuesday.

However, having avoided the more serious complication of radial nerve damage, Marquez confirmed he would return to Jerez ahead of this weekend’s second round with a view to competing provided he passed his pre-event medical.

He has now received that green light despite doctors originally setting him the target of returning for round three in Brno.

“Nobody expected to see him here," Repsol Honda boss Alberto Puig said. "When the accident happened we were very worried and of course he had to go to Barcelona for surgery. But the surgery went, frankly speaking, spectacularly well. We know the doctor is good but it was a fantastic job.

"And after surgery, the rider started to feel very well. He started to contact us, saying 'I'm not so bad. I feel well. I'm not having so much pain. I can move the arm'. The possible nerve [damage] situation, as the doctor informed, was okay.

“Originally, clearly, the Honda position was to cancel this race and to try in Brno. But after what we saw of Marc's wish, after what the doctors said today, declaring him fit, we came to a let's say an 'understanding' position that he will try on Saturday and depending on how he's feeling then, he will try or not to race.

"But we asked him to check on Saturday first and really understand if he is really capable of doing the distance or not. In case it's too risky, Marc already understood that our idea will be to cancel the race.

"But from last Sunday to today, things have been going so fast and so quickly that frankly speaking we are very surprised."

With MotoGP competing once more in Jerez this weekend, the decision has been taken for him to skip Friday’s free practice sessions for an extra day of recuperation.

"If it was a new track it would be more difficult. But we have been here for five days so the setup of the bike we know, he knows exactly how to ride the bike on this track. So it's no meaning to try Friday and to give more stress to the injury," Puig added

"So he will try Saturday and after that we will see. But it was very important for Honda and for the Repsol Honda team to also respect the rider's wish. So we get this compromise [to wait until Saturday] and then we will see the result on Saturday."

As well as Marquez, Alex Rins and Cal Crutchlow have also been passed fit to compete this weekend after the respective injuries picked up during the Jerez race weekend.