RNF Aprilia rider Miguel Oliveira has been given the all-clear to race in this weekend’s Americas MotoGP three weeks after crashing with Marc Marquez in Portugal.
On the third lap of the first grand prix of 2023 in Portugal, the Portuguese rider was taken out by Marquez, causing right-side tendon damage.
Oliveira, who had to skip the Argentina Grand Prix to heal from the injuries he sustained, arrived in Austin this week and was scheduled for a medical checkup on Thursday morning at the Circuit of the Americas.
The Portuguese rider cleared those tests and has been given permission to participate in Friday’s practice sessions, when he will further assess his level of fitness.
In the wake of the Marquez incident, Oliveira’s RNF team urged the FIM to impose stiffer penalties, but he was not replaced for the Argentina Grand Prix.
Marquez was given a double long lap penalty that was supposed to be served at the Argentina Grand Prix but has since been postponed until after his return after the FIM adjusted the wording of its application two days after the Portuguese Grand Prix.
Marquez is still out with a fractured hand and will miss this weekend’s Americas GP. Honda has filed an appeal, and the case has been transferred to the FIM’s Court of Appeals.
Honda test rider Stefan Bradl will replace Marquez this weekend at COTA, and Joan Mir, who missed the Argentina Grand Prix due to an ankle injury sustained in a crash on the opening lap of the Rio Hondo sprint race, will make his comeback.
Tech3 has enlisted KTM test rider Jonas Folger to step in for Espargaro until the Spaniard can return after deciding to respect his decision and not replace him in Argentina.
Folger’s final MotoGP start came at the 2017 Aragon Grand Prix, his debut season, before being forced to miss the rest of the season and all of 2018 due to Gilbert’s Syndrome.
Folger featured in five Moto2 races in 2019 and a full World Superbike season in 2021 after serving briefly as a Yamaha test rider in 2019. This season, Folger has been a part of the KTM team.
Enea Bastianini will continue to recuperate from the broken shoulder he sustained in a sprint race incident in Portugal, therefore test rider Michele Pirro will take Enea’s spot at factory Ducati.
