A few days had passed since then Marc Marquez has been keeping his fans updated on his workout progress on social media, but today he’s back with a photo of himself at the gym and the words “Non stop!”.. However, the worst thing is to embellish the post too much. It’s best to stick to the facts. The last thing we heard, as reported by the Gazzetta dello Sport, is that the Honda rider’s name is on the list of those who need to go to the doctor on Thursday before the Portimao GP to see if they give the green light for the race. Marc was summoned (along with Miller and Lecuona, who both underwent surgery to resolve compartment syndrome issues) to be declared fit to race.
So does this mean that Marquez will undoubtedly be in Portugal? Not really. In recent months they had already been embroidering (a bit too much) on the news that the Spanish champions had entered the Qatar Grand Prix. In fact, it was more of a bureaucratic thing: Marc had simply been entered by the team as a title holder being considered for the possibility of racing.
But the ones who will decide are the doctors at the Ruben Internacional Hospital in Madrid, just like last time. The same doctors who operated on his upper arm for the third and final time in December. As we have already written, The doctors, who have the last word, and the specialists, rely only on their patient’s condition, not caring too much about the MotoGP calendar or how many races he could potentially lose. After everything that has happened in the last few months, it is clear: if Marquez has no problem, he will race, otherwise he will wait.
To know what will happen on April 12, we need a crystal ball. What is certain is that after the two tests in Barcelona and Portimao on the RC213V-S, Marc stopped bragging about his training sessions and kept a low profile. That doesn’t mean Marquez is off the bike, but maybe it’s not the time to raise false hopes, either for himself or for his fans.
All in all, the first two GPs of the year weren’t that disastrous from Marquez’s point of view: at the top of the standings is Zarco – who isn’t on an official team – with 40 points, while Vinales and Quartararo – tough guys on paper – have 36 and Mir, the reigning world champion, only 22 . Numbers achievable for ‘old’ Marc when he gets back to full form, when he finds a Honda he likes and when he can pick up the pace straight away. Once again the doubts outweigh the certainties and there is only one way to dispel them: to see Marquez at the start. That is why April 12th is an important date for any self-respecting MotoGP fan.