Marc Marquez diagnosed with a new episode of diplopia upon his arrival in Spain

The Repsol Honda Team rider experiences another episode of diplopia as a result of the heavy fall suffered during Warm Up for the Indonesian Grand Prix.

Marc Marquez was declared unfit for the Indonesian Grand Prix held at the Mandalika circuit after suffering a high side at Turn 7 during Warm Up prior to the race.

The MotoGP medical team confirmed that Marquez suffered a concussion and several minor traumas before being transferred to the hospital in Mataram, the capital of the island of Lombok, where he underwent a more exhaustive medical examination and a CT scan in which major injuries were ruled out. As a precaution, the MotoGP medical team together with the Repsol Honda Team jointly decided that Marc Marquez would not take part in the Indonesian race.

During the journey back to Spain, Marc Marquez began to experience discomfort with his vision and upon his arrival in Barcelona on Monday, he had an emergency visit to the Hospital Clínic de Barcelona with his trusted ophthalmologist, Dr. Sánchez Dalmau, who after an examination confirmed a relapse in the diplopia that the rider suffered last November.

This morning, the Spanish rider visited his medical team, led by Dr. Samuel Antuña, at the Ruber Internacional Hospital in Madrid, where Marquez underwent a general medical check-up to evaluate all the bruises caused by the crash and a brain MRI. This has reconfirmed that he did not suffer any other injuries.

Doctor Sánchez Dalmau

Ophthalmologist

“The neuro-ophthalmological evaluation carried out on Marc Marquez on Monday after the head injury that occurred at the Indonesian Grand Prix, shows a new episode of diplopia caused by a recurrence of paralysis of the fourth right nerve, with less involvement than the one that occurred in the injury in November 2021. After this examination, it was initially decided to follow a conservative treatment with periodic medical tests. Next week, Marc Márquez will undergo a new check-up to evaluate the evolution of the injury and to predict the estimated recovery period to return to competition.”

Roll the dice: conditions hinder potential for Cam and Sean in Indonesia

A mixed weekend for the American Racing Team as Cameron Beaubier takes 12th while Sean Dylan Kelly is forced to retire from the shortened Indonesia Grand Prix.

Cam’s weekend got off to a steady start as the Californian familiarized himself with the brand new Mandalika International Street Circuit, ending all three practice sessions inside the top 15 and securing himself a direct place in Q2. A crash in qualifying prevented him from improving on 11th but, despite a tweak to his knee, he was able to walk away relatively unscathed.

On Sunday, faced with the unknown of the Indonesian circuit asphalt, the team took a gamble on the tires to maximize their longevity but, due to the reduced laps, were caught out. Cam fought to break into the top 10 for much of the race but, on the final lap, was caught and crossed the finish line in 12th.

It was a mixed start to the weekend for Sean as the rookie managed to show his potential in the mixed conditions to finish inside the top 10 on two of the three practice session but missed out on a direct place in Q2. An unfortunate crash on his first flying lap in qualifying sent Sean out of the session early and to the back of the grid.

Making an incredible start, Sean made up five positions with a great start before a broken shifter ended his race early as he was forced to retire.

Cameron Beaubier – #6

“Kind of like Qatar, I was expecting more to be honest. But I’m really happy we finished, especially with the tough conditions and my little crash yesterday in qualifying just on that second lap. I still don’t know what I touched in turn two, whether it was a wet patch or something to do with the asphalt.

We were anticipating a full distance race going with the lightly used soft rear tire, it’s a strategy I’ve done back home in the US before, just to harden the tire up a little bit. But the race was shortened last minute, and I just didn’t have the grip at the beginning of the race. So, I felt like I was just getting passed, left and right. If we had the race again, we’d have chosen a different strategy.

At the end I was trying to go for that top 10 and salvage a pretty tough Grand Prix, made a move into the final sector on Arenas and sent us wide and lost a couple places. I’m happy I stayed on two wheels though and all in all, I’m happy to get out of here with some good points and move on to Argentina!”

Sean Dylan Kelly – #4

“Overall, it was an up and down weekend. We had a lot of positives and some tough moments as well, some challenges we can really learn from. It was nice being able to get into the top 10 in some of the sessions with some ‘complicated’ weather. Honestly, it was just nice to get a good feeling with the bike, enough to put it somewhat more competitive. It was just a shame because every time we had some dry time in FP2, I felt like we were on the right path to do something good. But then I put in the soft tire with 10 mins to go I crashed on my first flying lap so couldn’t put in the soft tire lap time. I didn’t go out again on the tire in the dry until qualifying yesterday and that lasted less than a lap as well.

I feel like we lost a lot of dry time and that put me a step behind going into the race. That was definitely tough, but I tried my best to build that back and have an understanding during the race. But unfortunately, that ended early for us due to a mechanical issue. It’s part of racing but like I said, it was a weekend overall with lots of positives and challenges we’ll be able to learn and grow from!”

John Hopkins – American Racing Sporting Director

“It’s been a difficult weekend and bittersweet in a lot of ways. Most of the teams will have had a lot of negatives, I think we have a lot of positives.

For Sean, it’s been extremely difficult. We thought coming to a new track it would be somewhat of an even playing field, everyone learning the new track but with the conditions involved in that going from wet to dry to wet, barely having any dry track time, he’s been thrown into the deep end. But nonetheless he was consistently one of the top rookies throughout the weekend in a couple sessions. The race was wild, but he persevered, got a great start and a decent learning experience with the group he was riding with. Unfortunately, his shifter broke which put him out of the running but all this experience in varied conditions will make him a better rider in future.

As for Cam, it was a disappointing result given that his potential has been so high. He’s had solid race pace throughout the weekend, been strong wet or dry. Qualifying set us back by only having the one lap. I think if he had started higher up, he’d have finished higher too. But he got points, stayed up and that’s the most important thing.

The tire strategy was a gamble for everyone but as a team, I have to accept some responsibility as I was in favor of the tire choice we made but I think it was the wrong one ultimately for him. But these things can happen. It’s a long season, he’s got good points in the first two races. Let’s move to Argentina and the USA to search for that podium!”

Joe Roberts close to the top ten at Indonesian GP.

Improving performance for Lorenzo Dalla Porta.

Second round of the MotoGP World Championship at the amazing Mandalika International Circuit, Indonesia.

A brand-new challenge for Moto2 with a race cut from 25 to 16 laps before the start, as a result of track conditions.

Starting 19th on the grid, Joe Roberts made a great comeback, finishing 11th close to the top ten. His performance is a proof of the excellent race pace and high potential of the American rider, who still earns points in the standings.

Improving day for Lorenzo Dalla Porta too, who continues the work on the shoulder. Starting 27th has immediately took feeling with the track and conditions, despite the first drops of rain, recovering positions and finishing 20th. His lap times were close to those of his teammate, with some differences in the changes of direction due to the difficulty in moving the bike: clear sign that the Tuscan rider can be competitive.

Next round for the Italtrans Racing Team is the Argentina Grand Prix, scheduled on 3rd April at Rio Hondo Circuit.

Lorenzo Dalla Porta 20th

“I managed to finish the race and this is positive. My shoulder is improving and I’m working to be in the best shape in a short time. The goal is to take a further step forward in Argentina, where I will definitely be better”.

Joe Roberts 11th

“I’m quite satisfied, even if the result doesn’t represent us, because the potential is greater and we can definitely do better. Anyway, we got some more points. Now we look forward to the GP in Argentina”.

Franco Brugnara – Lorenzo Dalla Porta’s Crew Chief

“In the warm up we tried a different set-up for Lorenzo and the results were good. The final position is not what we are aiming for this year, but he took a step forward compared to Qatar. In the race he struggled but he hung in there and did well. We look forward to the next races”.

Giovanni Sandi – Joe Roberts’ Crew Chief

“We have the potential and we showed it today. Good race for Joe with a great recovery behind the second group. In the last laps he set the same lap times as the top three. We have to do better in qualifying in order to play for the podium”.