Multi-time MotoGP world champion Marc Marquez has been diagnosed with a new episode of double vision and it’s not looking good for 2022.
The Repsol Honda Team rider experiences another episode of diplopia (the medical term for double vision) as a result of the heavy fall suffered during warm up for the Indonesian Grand Prix at the weekend.
The Spanish rider was declared unfit for round two at the Indonesian Grand Prix, held at the Mandalika circuit, after suffering a “high side” at turn seven during the warm up lap prior to the race.
It is the latest in a succession of serious injuries for Marquez.
He broke his right arm in the opening race of the 2020 season at Jerez, in Spain, and had to sit out the rest of that season.
The injury, and a botched recovery, also kept him out of the first two rounds of 2021 and, although he did return to the race track, he was physically compromised all year.
Marquez was also forced to miss the last two rounds of the 2021 MotoGP season, and the post-season test, after a training crash which was believed initially to have left him with concussion.
Ahead of the very last round of the 2021 season, the Repsol Honda Team advised that Marquez was continuing to suffer eye problems, specifically diplopia and also paralysis of the same nerve that he had injured in 2011.
He was still recovering from those 2020 and 2021 injuries when he began this year’s campaign and he finished a subdued fifth at the 2022 MotoGP series opener at the Losail International Circuit, north of Doha, just over two weeks ago.
But, following his fall at round two in Indonesia, and his subsequently not being able to race, he has now slipped to an unaccustomed 12th in the 2022 series standings.
The MotoGP medical team confirmed that Marquez suffered a concussion at Indonesia 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 Marquez would not take part in the Indonesian race.
During the journey back to Spain, 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.
The Spanish rider then 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.
Márquez had looked invincible as record after record tumbled to him in recent years.
From being the youngest rider to win a MotoGP title at just over 20 years of age, he has the most pole positions and has won the most races in a single season, with 13 victories from 18 starts in 2014. He stands behind only Giacomo Agostini and Valentino Rossi in terms of winning top‑class titles.
Photo courtesy Honda
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2022 MotoGP World Champs standings after round two:
1 Enea Bastianin (ITA) Gresini Ducati (GP21) 30 points
2 Brad Binder (RSA) Red Bull KTM (RC16) 28 (-2)
3 Fabio Quartararo (FRA) Monster Yamaha (YZR-M1) 27 (-3)
4 Miguel Oliveira (POR) Red Bull KTM (RC16) 25 (-5)
5 Johann Zarco (FRA) Pramac Ducati (GP22) 24 (-6)
6 Pol Espargaro (SPA) Repsol Honda (RC213V) 20 (-10)
7 Aleix Espargaro (SPA) Aprilia Racing (RS-GP) 20 (-10)
8 Alex Rins (SPA) Suzuki Ecstar (GSX-RR) 20 (-10)
9 Joan Mir (SPA) Suzuki Ecstar (GSX-RR) 20 (-10)
10 Franco Morbidelli (ITA) Monster Yamaha (YZR-M1) 14 (-16)
11 Jack Miller (AUS) Ducati Lenovo (GP22) 13 (-17)
12 Marc Marquez (SPA) Repsol Honda (RC213V) 11 (-19)
13 Darryn Binder (RSA) WithU Yamaha RNF (YZR-M1) 6 (-24)
14 Takaaki Nakagami (JPN) LCR Honda (RC213V) 6 (-24)
15 Luca Marini (ITA) Mooney VR46 Ducati (GP22) 5 (-25)
16 Maverick Viñales (SPA) Aprilia Racing (RS-GP) 4 (-26)
17 Alex Marquez (SPA) LCR Honda (RC213V) 3 (-27)
18 Andrea Dovizioso (ITA) WithU Yamaha RNF (YZR-M1) 2 (-28)
19 Remy Gardner (AUS) KTM Tech3 (RC16) 1 (-29)
20 Francesco Bagnaia (ITA) Ducati Lenovo (GP22) 1 (-29)