Sports bike test for Marc Márquez in race to recover for MotoGP season

MotoGP

A video released shows Marc Márquez riding out of the Barcelona pitlane on Honda sports bike

Marc Márquez, 2020 Spain MotoGP

Márquez's Honda team has shared a video of him riding a RC213V-S sports bike

JAVIER SORIANO/AFP via Getty Images

The Repsol Honda Team has released a video of Marc Márquez riding a full-size sports bike for the first time since last July, further boosting his hopes of making the MotoGP opener in Qatar.

The footage, released on the team’s social media channel, shows the six-time MotoGP champion riding out of the pitlane on a Honda RC213V-S liveried in team colours, at the Circuit de Cataluyna in Barcelona.

Márquez had not ridden a full-size bike since July last year after an aborted comeback attempt at Jerez’s Andalusian Grand Prix, one week after breaking his arm at the same circuit.

An infection on the second surgery on the break led to a third operation, causing Márquez to miss the rest of the 2021 MotoGP season and put his participation at the start of this year in doubt.

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However, the Spaniard has made rapid progress in recent weeks, with his team releasing a video of the rider commenting on his recovery before Márquez shared footage of himself riding a mini moto bike.

“The sensations are very good,” he said in the previous video.

“We have recently started to work on strength, but the progression is very fast.

“The difference between the left and right arms is getting smaller and smaller and, on a cardiovascular level, I look ready.”