Alex Marquez ended his Brno MotoGP weekend early. The Spanish rider, who suffered a major accident in Catalonia about a month ago resulting in a fractured collarbone and spine, decided to withdraw from the Czech GP after finishing 14th in qualifying on Saturday morning.
Official statement from Gresini.
Gresini Racing announced in an official statement immediately following qualifying that Alex Marquez has withdrawn from the remainder of the Czech GP after consultations with the team and medical staff, aiming to continue his recovery process in the healthiest way possible. His teammate Fermin Aldeguer will start the race from 11th place.
“"I'm better than I expected, but I'm very tired."”
Marquez finished 15th in Friday's practice sessions, From the Friday sessions in Brno He then said he was approaching the weekend as part of a test and recovery period. The pilot's assessment was as follows: "I'm much better than I expected; however, I'm quite tired. I'm looking at the weekend as a test, a recovery period, and an opportunity to get on the track with the bike. After a few laps, the muscles start to give in a bit; I need to be careful. The MotoGP bike is the best training vehicle; so I'm just trying to do laps and understand everything step by step.".
Marquez also stated that he expects to return to 100% fitness after the summer break. The driver emphasized that he decided to assess his body's condition before each session; indeed, this assessment, which he made after waking up on Saturday morning, led him to the decision to withdraw.