The broken leg is mending fast, but Honda’s Marc Marquez will still be starting his MotoGP championship defence on the back foot in Qatar on Sunday.
The 21-year-old Spaniard, who became the youngest champion in motorcycling’s top category in his rookie season last year, fractured the fibula in his right leg while dirt-bike riding six weeks ago.
His leg was not put in plaster, but the injury meant he missed two of three pre-season tests in Malaysia and Australia and has not ridden a MotoGP bike since February 6.
“It was very disappointing for me to miss the two tests, but the good news is I’m getting better and the bone is mending,” Marquez said.
“I’ve been exercising more, so I’ll have to see how I am in Qatar. I don’t expect to be 100 per cent, but I will try my hardest. The important thing is to take some valuable points and then get up to 100 per cent by Round 2 in Austin [Texas].”
Marquez was third on his MotoGP debut in Qatar last year before he chalked up six wins.
While he has had to sit out, teammate and injury-prone compatriot Dani Pedrosa did plenty of laps in testing and has put in extra time in the gym to be in top shape.
Pedrosa has the fewest worries of Spain’s crop of top riders, with Yamaha’s double world champion and 2013 runner-up Jorge Lorenzo having three operations in the off-season after breaking his collarbone last year.
Lorenzo, whose teammate is again 35-year-old Italian great Valentino Rossi, had struggled with Bridgestone’s new tyres in Malaysia but went on to dominate the test at Australia’s Phillip Island.
Moto2 champion Pol Espargaro, the latest Spanish addition to the top category, will be riding with a broken collarbone when he makes his debut on the Tech3 Yamaha.
Espargaro had a titanium plate inserted last week after crashing in the final preseason test for non-factory teams in Qatar on March 9.
His older brother Aleix will also be on track as the Spaniards become the first siblings to race each other in the top category since Nicky and Lee Hayden at the 2010 US Grand Prix at Laguna Seca.
Britain’s Cal Crutchlow, fifth last year with Tech3, makes his debut with the Italian Ducati team, who have given up factory status and switched to the open class. That means Ducati will have to use standard control units and software but can use four more litres of fuel per race, softer tyres and have a bigger allocation of engines.
Luigi Dall’Igna, the Ducati general manager, said: “This year we have to keep developing our bikes throughout the season to improve our competitiveness and the factory option appears to be too restrictive for our needs.”
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