Honda test rider Stefan Bradl will deputise for the injured Marc Marquez in this weekend’s Argentina Grand Prix, the Japanese squad announced on Wednesday.
Marquez has been left on the sidelines after contracting another case of diplopia following a nasty crash in warm-up for the Indonesian Grand Prix two weeks ago, the Spaniard also suffering a concussion as a result of the smash.
While the concussion was expected to have been sorted in time for him to compete in Argentina, Marquez’s vision is still not at the level it needs to be in order to safely race at the Termas de Rio Hondo, forcing him to skip the event in order to try and recover for the Americas GP next weekend.
Honda has therefore opted to sent test rider Bradl to take the six-time premier class champions place in Argentina, the German set to make his first premier class start since last November’s Algarve GP.
“The most important thing is sending my best to Marc and hoping that he recovers quickly, until then, I will do my best for Honda HRC and the Repsol Honda Team in his place,” said Bradl.
“I have already done a few tests this year so I am familiar with the new Honda RC213V but of course coming into a MotoGP weekend is a different situation.
“I have some good memories of Argentina; I was fifth there in 2014 and seventh there when I last raced in Termas in 2016.
“We will work with the team to define the plan for the weekend, I have no doubt it will be a busy one.”
Bradl has entered a total of 26 MotoGP race weekends since becoming Honda’s MotoGP tester ahead of the 2018 season, though the 2011 Moto2 world champion hasn’t competed at the Termas de Rio Hondo since his last full-time premier class term in 2016 with Aprilia, in which he finished seventh.
Marquez faces a race against time to try and get race-fit for the Americas GP as he looks to try and win his eighth race in nine starts at the Circuit of the Americas, though he will be up against it due to the contest taking place just seven days after the Argentinean round, despite his medical team reckoning his signs of recovery have so far looked “favourable.”
