The LCR Honda rider recorded his fifth fall in four days of testing on Thursday when he picked up the right-handed man at Turn 9.
The crash spawned a brief red flag, and Marquez was subsequently diagnosed with a 2mm fracture in his right foot, which paused him for the rest of the day. Marquez says he’s previously ridden with a similar injury and is hoping to be cleared to drive tomorrow, but will only press for it if weather conditions don’t cause unnecessary risk.
He explained his fall after the end of the 17th day and said, “Well, I tried some important things again in the first part of the session because this part of the day is not for doing laps because the conditions are so different, and we won’t have these conditions while exercising in the do [race] Weekend.
“I focused on a lot of things and then put in new tires to time off because I needed to improve. When I attacked time, I crashed. [It] was a highside at Turn 9, luckily I’m fine. I have a small crack in my right foot.
“At the moment I have [been declared] not approve of the doctor, but tomorrow, when we have good weather and conditions, I will try to urge the doctor [pass me] fit because I feel good, I’m already riding this broken one. I think it won’t be a problem to be on the bike. But here in Qatar it’s a special doctor. “
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There have been a number of crashes throughout the season and while Marquez disagrees with this out of the norm for a test, he expressed concern about the lack of feedback from the harder front tire compounds.
“About crashes, I think everyone crashes,” he added. “I was there yesterday too [Maverick] Vinales at the Clinica, he told me he had fallen twice in a straight line with the front tire.
“It’s a bit difficult to understand the hard front tire, but also the medium with the right side a bit harder. [You get] No information and you lose the front so easily. So already today in the first [hours]I’ve tried the hard and the medium and maybe the medium was a little better from the front tire and it’s so easy to crash.
“[It] will be a bit risky for the GP because we will only have five soft front tires. So we have to manage, and FP1 and FP3 are not going to count much. “