Injured Marc Marquez pulls out of the Andalucia MotoGP

Marc Marquez has withdrawn from the Andalucia MotoGP after failing to set a lap time during qualifying in Jerez.

The Repsol Honda rider returned to action this morning in FP3 just four days after undergoing surgery on his fractured right humerus but has visibly struggled for performance and comfort on the Honda RC213V.

Already on the back foot after skipping Friday’s free practice session, Marquez would need to crack the top ten out of the box in FP3 if he was to make Q2 but was comfortably off the pace. With the Spaniard feeling greater pain during the longer stints of FP4, he managed just one slow lap in Q1 before pulling in and calling time.

Repsol Honda team boss Alberto Puig has now confirmed Marquez will take no further part in this weekend’s event.

“He’s a little in pain,” Puig revealed. “This morning [FP3] it was not so bad, but understanding that ‘not so bad’ is still pain because it’s a broken bone but he could still go and the plan for the afternoon was to try a longer run. In the longer run, probably because of the laps and the heat, he started to feel more pain and feel not so comfortable.

“We decided to go with the plan, to come here, skip Friday and try Saturday. This morning was like a test to see if he could ride the bike and it was OK, then in the afternoon finally we saw it was not so east. So we have decided that it is best not to race.”

The withdrawal comes as Fabio Quartararo and Maverick Vinales – arguably his biggest rivals for the 2020 MotoGP title this year – put their Yamaha’s 1-2 on the grid in Jerez, putting them in a strong position to multiply their advantages over the yet-to-score Marquez.