A third operation for Marc Marquez five months after the accident that excluded him from the entire 2020 MotoGP season – but only three before the next one – is not good news for the six-time MotoGP world champion.
From attempting to ride a bike three days after his first surgery to his current location, Marquez hasn’t thrown a leg over a bike since July. While the ongoing social media posts suggest the workout may continue, he stays in the hospital 10 days after going under the knife to treat an infection that stutters, which is a very slow recovery process, is serious.
Of course there is certainly no medical degree here and based on the official Honda line, things should be in ship shape by the start of the 2021 MotoGP season, but the rumor mill has been going on for a few weeks now and there is little evidence that this is actually the case it’s OK.
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It’s a headache Honda will hardly enjoy grinning through clenched teeth in 2020, as the absence of its prize fortune revealed the lack of a backup plan where Cal Crutchlow, Takaaki Nakagami and Alex Marquez were unable for one reason to take the initiative or another.
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Ironically, Honda had foreseen this by signing Pol Espargaro from 2021 to act as worthy support in the worst case scenario, only to justify those fears a year early. After Honda won the triple crown in 2019 due to Marquez alone, considering Jorge Lorenzo’s flop on the other bike, he was fifth out of six in the manufacturers’ championship in 2020, while only Aprilia and Avintia Racing scored fewer points than the Repsol factory team ..
It’s why Honda could get itchy feet at the prospect of another (Marc) Marquez-free period, leading to a Plan B that doesn’t sound like a bad one by all reports.
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Where could Andrea Dovizioso fit in?
Enter Andrea Dovizioso. The Italian is currently preparing for a year on the sidelines after breaking ties with Ducati in a contractual call-my-bluff game that went over the distance. After Dovizioso rejected the few alternative options available to him (Aprilia), he seems satisfied with a year on the sofa … or is he?
Dovizioso was never exactly a man of many words and said nothing when asked about the prospect of a Honda switch at the 2020 final. However, it is likely that he will be closely monitoring the situation in Marquez, and it is reasonable to assume that some sort of Merry Xmas text has been sent between him and Alberto Puig in the past few weeks.
On paper, it’s an ideal solution. Dovizioso is more than capable of assuming leadership status with a title-winning team that he naturally competed with before.
It could be a stumbling block in terms of the rules, however, as Marquez needs seating but won’t get it when Dovizioso occupies it. Hence, there is talk that Honda could ask the FIM to reset Dovizioso or Marquez to de facto wildcard status to ensure three Repsol-branded RC213V motorcycles compete.
It would require a regulation change – and rivals likely won’t be impressed – but history shows that the FIM is not detrimental to policy changes regarding Senor Marquez and Honda. Check out this area!