Champion Martin Eyes Qatar Return As ‘Bitter’ Marc Marquez Seeks

ADDS Martin given the green light by doctors to compete

Reigning champion Jorge Martin will make his season debut after an injury setback at the Qatar MotoGP this weekend where Marc Marquez looks to bury the “bitter taste” of his crash last time out in the United States.

Aprilia’s Martin broke his right hand and foot in a crash during the opening day of pre-season testing in Malaysia in February, and missed the first three races of the season.

hysically, I’m not even sure I’ll be able to finish the race,” said Martin. “But if we can manage, it will be a victory because that will mean that I’m beginning to recover.”

Meanwhile fellow Spaniard Marc Marquez will be looking to get back on track after a crash in the USA MotoGP in Austin scuppered his perfect start to the season.

Forced to retire in the main race, the Ducati rider lost top spot in the world championship standings in the process.

Starting from pole position, Marquez had won the sprint race and looked to be heading for his sixth victory in as many races this season before suffering his first setback of the year.

The mistake cost him the overall lead to his 28-year-old brother Alex Marquez.

The younger of the Marquez siblings, who has yet to win a Grand Prix in the top class, has a one-point lead with 87 points.

Two-time MotoGP world champion Francesco Bagnaia, who took advantage of teammate Marc Marquez’s crash to win his first race of the season in Austin, is third with 75 points.

The Italian, who was expected at the start of the year to be Marc Marquez’s leading rival on the bike considered the most powerful on the grid, has so far struggled to challenge the Spaniard’s dominance.

He will now be hoping to back up his Austin win at the Lusail circuit where he won last year.

Martin, 27, who moved to Aprilia in the off-season after winning the world title with Ducati-Pramac, was injured in February, before the year’s opening race in Thailand.