Marc Marquez 'really happy to be back' as Honda announces Spaniard will return to action at French GP

Published 10/05/2023 at 22:54 GMT

Marc Marquez has missed the past three rounds due to injury but the six-time MotoGP champion will return to action at Le Mans in the French GP on May 14, Honda have announced. The Spaniard crashed into Miguel Oliveira in the first race of the season in Portimao on March 26, subsequently missing his home race at the Spanish GP as well as the Argentina GP and Americas GP.

Marc Marquez

Image credit: Getty Images

Honda’s Marc Marquez will return to action at the MotoGP French Grand Prix having recovered from a hand injury suffered in March.

The six-time MotoGP champion crashed into Miguel Oliveira in the first race of the season in Portimao on March 26, subsequently missing his home race at the Spanish GP as well as the Argentina GP and Americas GP.

“I am really happy to be back with the Repsol Honda Team, about to ride my bike again," commented Marquez.

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"First of all I want to thank my medical team for their professionalism and advice over the past few weeks.

"Of course as a rider you always want to be back as soon as possible, but with an injury like this it was really important to allow it to heal.

"Now I am here and fully focused on riding, I have no worries about the injury since it’s fully healed.

“Let’s see what the French GP brings and most importantly, work to our maximum.”

The Spaniard has struggled with injuries recently and to compound matters, Honda have had a hard time being able to match the pace being set by the Ducati bikes, with Marquez finishing 13th in the standings in the 2022 season.

According to his former team-mate Jorge Lorenzo, Marquez will have to pick between a “very high” contract at Honda or a “fairly low” one at Ducati in the near future.

Marquez, 30, has been with Honda since 2013 and has a contract until 2024.

“When you're the 2019 world champion and they offer you four years for €20m (£17.40m) a year with a bike with which you know you can win other World Championships on, it's hard to say no,” Lorenzo explained.

“Especially if the other teams offer you five times less.

“I think he made the right choice at the time, but now he'll have to understand what suits him best: accept an offer from Honda, which will certainly be very high, or focus on a fairly low offer with Ducati.

"Ducati doesn't need him to win, while Marc needs them to do it again.

“This is why Ducati will aim downwards with him, offering nothing compared to the figures we were used to in the past.

“In Borgo Panigale, above all, they make short contracts and with low figures, focusing heavily on bonuses.

“The 10, 15 or 20 million they used to be are no longer seen.”

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