By Alan Baldwin
Jerez, Spain - MotoGP champion Marc Marquez is hoping to race at Jerez this weekend despite breaking his arm four days ago and undergoing surgery on Tuesday, the official MotoGP website said on Thursday.
The Spaniard's Repsol Honda team said on Twitter that the champion was on his way to Jerez, the circuit where he broke his arm in a crash during last Sunday's season-opening race and that hosts round two on Sunday.
"More soon," the team added on Twitter next to a picture of Marquez's bike being wheeled into the garage.
MotoGP said Marquez will undergo a medical at the circuit in the afternoon "with the hope of being passed fit by the MotoGP medical team so he can then participate in this weekend's Gran Premio Red Bull de Andalucia."
Marquez's surgery in Barcelona involved fixing a titanium plate internally to his right humerus. The radial nerve was not affected, however, in a boost for the rider's hopes of an early return.
Marquez crashed at turn four last Sunday, with four laps to go, ending his race in a fall where he was catapulted off his bike before bouncing off the track and into the gravel.
The 27-year-old Spaniard walked away from the crash with the help of track marshals but was clearly in pain after being hit by the bike and was later put in a neck brace before being taken to a medical centre for X-rays.
Reuters