Marc Márquez was the main protagonist at the premiere of the 2023 MotoGP World Championship at the Portuguese GP. His intense weekend had its face on Saturday and the cross on Sunday. The revolution with its pole and podium in the sprint The opening run turned into a revving blast on Sunday when he plowed into Miguel Oliveira on the third lap of the race. In action, he also annoyed Jorge Martín’s day, when the three fought for the podium positions behind the leader’s reference, a Pecco Bagnaia who prevailed with authority.
In the third corner of the circuit, the eighth world champion took Oliveira, the local idol, ahead of him when he was running second. According to Alberto Puig, Repsol Honda’s sports director, the rider locked the front wheel and was unable to control his mount in action. “He started with the hard tire in front. He was not up to temperature, he braked and blocked. When releasing the brake, with inertia, the motorcycle sped off and could not avoid the collision, ”he commented to the DAZN microphones. “This can happen. The pity is that there is another pilot involved and we want to apologize to Aprilia and Oliveira”.
After the incident, the Portuguese was left lying on the sidelines, visibly hurt, although the first medical tests on the circuit ruled out any injury. In the action, the Honda man also hit Martín, who after the scare fell from third to fifteenth place and then crashed with five laps to go. After the race, Ducati reported that the Spaniard fractured a toe on his right foot after the side collision with the Catalan. Enraged, the runner charged at his rival. “It is not the first time that he throws me. Apologizing to the driver and the public no longer works, ”he declared, according to Motorsport.com.
Márquez was the one who suffered the worst part, however, with a possible fracture of the first metacarpal of the right thumb that will require further diagnostic tests for confirmation this Monday at the Dexeus clinic in Barcelona. “There is a possible fracture in the first metacarpal of the right hand,” commented the World Cup medical officer, Dr. Ángel Charte, at the gates of the circuit clinic. “You have to assess it in greater depth, but it is possible that there is a fracture in the thumb,” confirmed Puig.
An hour and a half after the end of the test, the stewards announced a sanction of two long laps – which consists of deviating from the usual line in a designated area that varies in each circuit and which entails the loss of about two seconds on a normal lap approximately – to serve in the Argentine GP, which will be held next weekend at Termas del Río Hondo. The judges penalized the 93 for “being too aggressive and causing a collision.”
One possibility that has not yet been ruled out is that Márquez, depending on the extent of the ailments, may not be able to participate in the next World Cup event, just now that he was leaving behind two and a half years of authentic ordeal due to his persistent problems in his right humerus. Already showered and changed, head down and a bit lame after the bump, Marc went up to the Aprilia box to apologize to the Portuguese team and then to the public, who did not forgive him for the action and whistled loudly from the stands in Portimão.
“For me the most important thing is that Miguel is fine. Today another rider crashed because of me, because of my mistake and he made me feel very bad”, commented the great protagonist of the weekend. It is a serious mistake and for this reason I have been penalized with a sanction that I accept and respect. I fully agree, but we have to learn from it and move on,” he added.
