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Marc Marquez will take part in the Spanish Grand Prix despite injury to little finger of left hand. Hiroshi Aoyama will again be his teammate, with Dani Pedrosa not yet fully recovered from his injury.
• Marc Marquez won last year’s race at the Circuito de Jerez, something he had never done before in the World Championship.
• Fabio Quartararo, Jorge Navarro and Maria Herrera contest their first Grand Prix of the year at a familiar track.
• Hiroshi Aoyama placed twelfth a year ago. He won the 2009 250cc race.
After races in Qatar, the United States and Argentina, the MotoGP World Championship arrives in Europe this weekend. Awaiting the riders are six races in the next ten weeks on European soil, with the first stop the Spanish Grand Prix. The Circuito de Jerez hosts the annual festival of Spanish motorcycle racing from May 1st to May 3rd –a track at which Marc Marquez won a year ago, and where this time he will be teamed up with Hiroshi Aoyama.
The race comes only a few days after Marquez suffered an injury to the little finger of his left hand, but he will still be onboard his Repsol Honda RC213V and looking to regain ground in the standings. Alongside him will be Hiroshi Aoyama, standing in for Dani Pedrosa for the third consecutive race. The Repsol Honda Team rider announced on his blog this week that, while his recovery continues according to schedule, he is not yet fully fit to return and will instead make his comeback at the French Grand Prix.
In the Moto3 class, Fabio Quartararo, Jorge Navarro and Maria Herrera finally have a weekend in which they start on equal footing with their more experienced rivals. After facing three unfamiliar tracks, the Jerez circuit allows the trio to go back to one of the tracks where they have ridden not only in preseason, but also in previous years.
Marc Marquez:
“Today I underwent another examination by Dr. Mir, and he confirmed that the wound is healing well and looking good. He took off the cast that they had put on and now I have begun to do some physiotherapy work with some active and passive movements. My finger will be checked at Jerez after every session and the bandages will be changed. I am very motivated for this Grand Prix, because it is the first of the year in Spain, there are my home fans there and I have some good memories from previous years! It’s a pity about the injury, but I hope that it doesn’t affect me too much and that I can get a great result in front of the fans.”
Dani Pedrosa:
“I really hoped to return in Jerez but after riding a supermotard bike yesterday, we decided it’s not the best option. By competing in an entire race weekend we risk damaging the arm further and slowing down the healing process and the last thing I want to do is create a bigger problem. I’m missing my team and can’t wait to come back in Le Mans. Thank you all for all your kind messages, they give me strength in these tough times.”
Hiroshi Aoyama:
“I’m sorry for Dani that he is not able to return to racing this weekend at his home grand prix. Honda have asked me to substitute for him again and it’s an honour to do so. I have made some progression with the team during the Austin and Argentina race weekends and they have helped me a lot, so I hope we can make another step in Jerez! It’s a tight track on these big bikes but I’m looking forward to racing there with Repsol Honda.”
Fabio Quatararo:
“Things are different this week, because we go to a track I know very well. We went there during preseason and I set some good times there. We know that we’re going there with a good setup and I know the track, so I hope to have a good race because it’s a track I really enjoy and I have good memories of it. We have made a good start to the World Championship, with difficult races like Argentina, and we have achieved good results, so we will try to keep on the same path.”
Jorge Navarro:
“Jerez is a circuit we’ve known for years and where we also rode during preseason. It will be an added motivation to ride at a track where from the beginning we have references -and where we will also have all the fans supporting us. We will try to work in the same way we’ve been doing for the first three races, which has allowed us to ride in the lead group and should allow us to start scoring points.”
Maria Herrera:
“I go to Jerez eager to ride. In Argentina we kept progressing, getting closer to the good times, so I feel very strong and motivated for this Grand Prix. After three races, we have made a very good progression that has allowed me to greatly improve my pace, so I am really keen to have a good race. It is also very positive to go to a circuit that I know and that will allow us to work hard from Friday, focusing on the setup and riding strongly instead of learning corners.”
