A double knockout that hadn’t happened since 1992. Last Sunday there were no Honda HRC team bikes at the start of the Valencia Grand Prix, the last round of the 2021 MotoGP championship. Marc Marquez is knocked out due to the diplopia that resurfaced following a fall in training with the off-road bike, while Pol Espargarò was unable to get the doctors’ ok to race following a disastrous fall that saw him protagonist in the final of the third free practice session. On the eve of the Ricardo Tormo appointment, Honda preferred to dispense the test driver Stefan Bradl so as not to tire him too much in view of the fundamental two days of testing scheduled for tomorrow and Friday at the Jerez circuit. The German rider and, hopefully, Pol Espargarò will work on the 2022 prototype, through which Honda hopes to return to being a technical reference point after two extremely deficient seasons in the absence of Marc Marquez.
A diplopia that emerges when looking down. In Valencia, the Honda men tried to avoid spotlights, cameras and microphones as much as possible, but according to the German newspaper Speedweek.com sources inside the HRC box confirmed that the trauma to the optic nerve suffered by Marquez is in exactly the same spot as in 2011. Double vision occurs as soon as Marc looks down. Upward and forward vision are not affected. It will take a small miracle to ensure that Marc Marquez is at 100% from 6 to 8 March 2022 when the championship starts at the Losail circuit.
The HRC plan-B. Faced with this uncertainty, Japan is already studying rapid and effective counter-moves. The strategy is ‘home-made’: Alex Marquez would return to wear the Repsol suit within the official team, with Iker Lecuona possibly held in MotoGP in the LCR team instead of following the pre-established competitive program, or racing in Superbike with Xavi Vierge in the saddle to the Honda Fireblade.
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