Gresini Ducati rider Alex Marquez has cut short his return to MotoGP action at the Czech Grand Prix this weekend.
The Spaniard qualified for the Brno race comfortably enough earlier today, and would have lined up 14th on the grid. Although that was below his usual standards, it was not unexpected given his violent crash at Barcelona occurred little more than a month ago.
But despite a reasonable level of performance, Marquez has decided not to push his luck by taking part in the races.
A brief team announcement following qualifying read: “Alex Marquez, after consulting with the team and medical staff, has decided to withdraw from the rest of the Czech GP, with the aim of continuing his recovery in the best possible way.”
Marquez had at no stage promised to complete the weekend, saying he was going to approach the Czech round on a “practice by practice” basis.
Following Friday’s action, he reported he was “quite tired but much closer [to the pace] than what I expected”.
Saturday’s move to stand down from the Czech GP will allow him a couple of extra days to heal further before the next race, which takes place at Assen next weekend. Given this withdrawal, Marquez will need to go through medical clearance once again to be allowed to take part.
In other post-qualifying news, Pramac Yamaha rider Toprak Razgatlioglu has been issued with a three-place grid penalty for Sunday’s grand prix.
The infringement in question was riding slowly on the racing line during Q1, impeding the Tech3 KTM of Enea Bastianini.
The Turk will only drop one position, as he had qualified second to last on this occasion. Cal Crutchlow (LCR Honda) is the lucky man to be promoted off the final spot on the Sunday grid.
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