Jerez de la Frontera on July 25, 2020 – the last time Marc Marquez was on the road with the Repsol Honda RC213V. Now, according to his own statements, he has received approval from the doctors to race again. But what is happening now?

Marc Marquez and the imaginary hurdles for his comeback

The six-time MotoGP world champion fueled the fire of his fans’ expectations shortly after he announced the compulsory break after July 25th last year. Full-bodied and combative, he emphasized at the time that he promised to come back stronger than ever. At that time, Marquez could not have known that his forced break would last into the next season due to his early attempt on the 2nd Jerez weekend. From now on, however, the medical discussions can be ignored. According to the doctors treating him, he is now considered fit for racing and only the FIM Medical Commission can prevent him from making a comeback in Portugal. That they will do this, however, is completely unthinkable. Because they released him for FP3 and qualifying 4 days after his operation on his broken upper arm last year, they would be ridiculed.

Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda) after his terrible crash in turn 3 of Jerez in the gravel, exactly the point that meant the end of “Quick Mick” Doohan’s career in 1999. Even the most successful 500 cc driver of the modern era, or the two-stroke era, drove for the Repsol Honda works team.

What are the options for Honda and its most successful driver?

Last year, Stefan Bradl had achieved his best result in Portugal, also because, apart from the 2 Aprilia pilots, he was the only one who had been able to test on the track, which was new to almost all pilots. While the Bavarian had benefited from many crashes and failures of faster drivers in Le Mans with P8, his result at the Autodromo do Algarve was undoubtedly strong. Critics also spoke of the only acceptable one besides the stroke of luck at the French GP. So while the German is a safe bet, Marquez has some question marks. Risking your comeback with less than 2 hours of driving experience on the MotoGP Honda on the demanding track would be a very daring mission. That is why we had made it clear earlier than almost everyone else that he could hardly be expected to return before Jerez.

Stefan Bradl as HRC test and long-term replacement for Marquez before the start of the 2020 race in Portimão. The German finished seventh three places behind Repsol Honda’s newcomer Pol Espargaró (then on KTM). In principle, the team already has two hot irons in the fire for mid-April. Nakagami and Alex Marquez also drove very well in the final race last year.

The existing options for Marquez in brief
There are various options for the comeback of Marc Marquez and the options for it, which we only list here without evaluating them. Each of them has its advantages and disadvantages in terms of risk and implications for the rest of the season. The top priority for HRC Honda must be to prevent a debacle like last year. At that time, Repsol Honda was third from bottom in the team standings and in the brands standings the hard verdict was second from last place ahead of Aprilia.

Option 1: Marquez will test a MotoGP replica from Monday, April 12th in Jerez and try it in Portimão.
Option 2: Marc Marquez builds up his security for the GP in Jerez in 3 weeks and starts in Andalusia.
Option 3: The 6-time world champion does without a “quick shot” and prepares himself seriously on the bike for several weeks.

Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM) before the start in Losail – at his home race as last year’s winner clearly one of the favorites, regardless of the pathetic performance of the oranges in the first double race of the season. Probably no other driver knows the Autodromo do Algarve, which was completed in autumn 2008, as well as the prospective dentist. On April 18th, however, there is a good chance that one or more of his opponents will pull his teeth at the Portuguese GP.

Schedule for the Grand Prix weekend in Portugal

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