The Repsol Honda Team has revealed that Stefan Bradl will fill in for Marc Marquez at this weekend’s Catalan MotoGP while he is undergoing surgery.
Six time premier world champion Marc Marquez has travelled to the United States for a fourth operation on his broken arm, which he has had for nearly two years, with no news on when he will return.
Honda has now announced Stefan Bradl, who has filled in for every time a replacement has been needed since that fatal day in Jerez, including various periods when the six-time premier class winner was sidelined due to concussion and/or diplopia, will get another call-up.
The German will be having his third race in the 2022 season at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, after racing in Argentina following Marquez’s highside in Indonesia and then in the Spanish Grand Prix as a wildcard.
“First, I want to wish Marc all the best with his operation and his recovery,” said Bradl, Honda’s test rider. “I am here for everything that HRC and the Repsol Honda Team need until Marc’s return.”
“We have all seen the level in MotoGP, so we know the challenge that is ahead of us but I am confident that working with Honda and the team we can achieve something.”
“Let’s see what the weekend brings, it will be important to get in a lot of laps and prepare well for Monday’s test.”
Marquez has expressed hope that the operation will let him to “live a normal life again,” after struggling with painkillers and limited movement for the past two years.
When he was told he needed to go under the knife again, he claimed physicians told him, “We don’t know how you are doing what you are doing now.”
Despite missing the most of another another campaign, the 29-year-old claims he has Honda’s complete support. The Jerez crash, of course, held him out for the majority of 2020 and the first two rounds of 2021, before the motocross accident forced him to miss the final two rounds of the previous year.
“I feel a very big respect, from Honda to myself,” said Marquez at Mugello, the scene of his last grand prix for some time.
“I said to them, ‘The situation is this, if you want I can continue riding like this, finishing between fifth to 10th, and maybe the podium in some races.’
“They said to me, ‘Your life is more important. Just take care about you, and we will wait.’”
Pol Espargaro, a teammate, sits 12th in the championship, three spots behind Marquez. The duo will race this weekend in Catalunya and then stay on for official testing on Monday, as Bradl mentioned.
