Marc Márquez ruled out of Brno MotoGP round; Stefan Bradl to stand in

MotoGP

A second operation on Marc Márquez's fractured arm will force him to miss this weekend's MotoGP race in the Czech Republic. HRC test rider Stefan Bradl will take his place

Stefan Bradl

Stefan Bradl will replace the injured Marc Márquez in Brno

Honda

Stefan Bradl will take Marc Márquez’s Honda seat in this weekend’s Czech Republic Grand Prix, after the reigning champion had a second operation on his fractured arm.

Márquez has been ruled out of the Brno race while he recovers from surgery to replace the titanium plate fixing his right humerus.

Márquez fractured the bone in the season-opening Jerez race as fought his way through the field. After an initial operation, he returned to the track for the following weekend’s race but abandoned qualifying after losing strength in his injured arm.

Dr Xavier Mir, MotoGP’s traumatology specialist, said that a stress accumulation had damaged the plate, which had to be replaced.

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This morning, Honda announced that Márquez would not race to give him more time to recover. HRC test rider Bradl will take his place alongside Alex Márquez.

“First of all I want to wish Marc a speedy recovery, what he did in Jerez was incredible and he showed that he has the true spirit of a champion,” said Bradl.

“I am looking forward to riding the Honda RC213V again. Due to the global pandemic we have not been able to test as we would normally so it will take some time to adjust to the bike and MotoGP again

“It’s a challenge I’m looking forward to. Let’s see how the weekend goes.”

Moto 2 champion in 2011, Bradl first raced in MotoGP in 2012 and became HRC test rider last year, when he replaced the injured Jorge Lorenzo for three races, and secured a wildcard entry in Jerez.