Marquez retains small title chance despite having to sit out Malaysian Grand Prix

Marc Márquez tried it until the last moment, but he was finally forced to take, together with his team, the difficult decision not to compete in the Malaysian Grand Prix. Despite that, the second place of his main rival in the title fight, Germany’s Stefan Bradl, in today’s race —won by Luthi— allows the Repsol rider to keep his mathematical chances to get the title, although they are slim at best. Bradl leads the overall standings with an advantage of 23 points, which forces Márquez to win in Valencia and the German rider should not finish in better position than fourteenth.

The heavy hit received on the head in his Friday morning crash during the first lap of the morning practice overcame Marquez’s will to keep fighting for the World Championship. The doctors advised the Repsol rider not to take part in the race due to his sight problems, after yesterday Alzamora’s pupil completed just one lap to classify —thirty-sixth— in the starting grid.

Michelle Zasa, doctor of the Clínica Mobile who took care of Marc during the last two days since his crash on Friday morning, explained that “the problem is that Marc [Márquez] suffered two heavy accidents in just one week with contusions in all his body. That is not as worrying as the two impacts on the head in such a little space of time. Fortunately it was nothing serious and there have not appeared any neurological symptoms, but yesterday he did a lap and he did not see properly with the left eye, that is a small sign of concussion. With these small symptoms the best thing to do is to stop because in case of another impact, the damage can be much worse. We have advised him to rest and when he arrives to Spain he will be checked by doctors specialized in sporting medicine to evaluate him thoroughly”.

Now Marc will go back to Barcelona to undergo medical checks and start his recovery with his sights set on the Valencian Grand Prix at the Ricardo Tormo Circuit in two weeks.

Marc Márquez : “In the end and after trying everything during the weekend, visiting the Clínica Mobile to try to recover, we had to decide not to compete. I was improving a bit, but very slowly. I don’t feel very bad physically, I only have pain in the left foot and shoulder, so I could have raced if it was only that.

But the problem is that when I look to the left the eye of that side doesn’t allow me to see clearly. That is very dangerous on a bike, you need to have the sight at 100%, because you ride at more than 200 Km/h and is a danger not only for you, but also for the rest of riders.

We tried yesterday in the qualifying, I went out and did a fast lap, but I saw immediately that I could not do it. We hoped that I would feel better today, but when I woke up I knew that I had not improved enough, so we had to take this difficult decision. It is true that I’m fighting for the championship, but the physical conditions are more important.

If it was a finger, a shoulder or a foot, you can stand the pain, but the sight, the head, cannot be force. I saw the race and, of course, I supported Luthi today and I think he deserved victory. We are still alive in the championship, but chances are very slim because 23 points are a lot. My priority is to recover and arrive to Valencia in the best form”.

Source: Repsol Media