Marc Marquez will miss this weekend's Grand Prix of the Americas as the Repsol Honda rider continues his recovery from a hand injury.

The six-time MotoGP champion suffered a fracture to the first metacarpal bone in his right hand in last month's Portuguese Grand Prix.

He underwent surgery and subsequently sat out the Argentine Grand Prix.

Marquez had been expected to return at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin this week, but he announced on social media on Tuesday that his injury has not yet fully healed.

"I have just had a CAT scan and it was confirmed that the bone is still in the process of healing," he said.

"After talking with the medical team led by Dr. Ignacio Roger de Ona, we have decided not to take any risks and therefore I won't be able to ride in Austin.

"I will continue working and rehabilitating as I have been doing so far to be able to get back on the bike as soon as possible."

Marquez suffered the injury after a crash with Miguel Oliveira early on in Portimao, with the Spaniard found guilty of irresponsible riding for his part in the collision.

The 30-year-old was handed a double long-lap penalty and the FIM confirmed Marquez will serve the sanction when he next features, though Honda lodged an appeal.

The Spanish Grand Prix on April 30 has now been earmarked for Marquez's possible return.

Repsol Honda alleged the International Motorcycling Federation (FIM) has "violated" the team's rights after its decision to uphold Marc Marquez's ban beyond the Argentina Grand Prix.

The six-time MotoGP champion suffered a fracture to the first metacarpal bone in his right hand in Sunday's Portuguese Grand Prix.

That was after a crash with Miguel Oliveira at Turn 3 early in the race, with Marquez found guilty of irresponsible riding in Portimao after both riders were unable to continue.

The Spaniard was handed a double long-lap penalty and the FIM confirmed Marquez will serve the sanction when he next features after Honda announced he will miss the next race due to a hand operation.

Honda have contested the FIM's ruling, questioning the merits of changing the penalty two days after the initial sanction.

"The modification of the penalty consisted of a change of criteria on when the penalty should be applied," Honda said in a statement on Wednesday.

"This modification was issued by the FIM two days after the initial sanction was final and definitive, and is not in line with the current regulations of the FIM for the MotoGP World Championship.

"The Repsol Honda Team intends to use all the means of recourse to defend its rights and legitimate interests, which it considers violated as a result of the latest resolution adopted, and in particular has duly submitted an appeal before the FIM Appeal Stewards."

Japanese team Honda have opted to go to the Termas de Rio Hondo Circuit with just one rider, despite having test rider Stefan Bradl available.

Joan Mir will step up in the absence of Marquez as the 2020 world champion prepares for his second race in the team's colours on Sunday in Santiago del Estero.

Marc Marquez has been ruled out of next weekend's Argentina Grand Prix after undergoing surgery on his hand.

The six-time MotoGP champion suffered a fracture to the first metacarpal bone in his right hand in Sunday's Portuguese Grand Prix.

Repsol Honda confirmed on Monday that Marquez was operated on at the Ruber Internacional Hospital in Madrid and will spend a short period recuperating.

As a result of sitting out the next round in Argentina, the Spaniard will also miss the double long-lap penalty imposed on him by the FIM 

Marquez was found guilty of irresponsible riding in Portimao when ploughing into Miguel Oliveira at Turn 3 early in the race, resulting in both riders dramatically crashing out.

The 30-year-old also forced Jorge Martin wide, which saw his compatriot lose several positions.

Speaking after the race, which he entered in pole position, Marquez accepted blame for the collision that cut his opening race of the season short.

"The most important is that Miguel is okay," he said. "I made a big mistake on Turn 3, in the first part, and this created everything.

"I braked and had a massive lock with the front tyre. That meant that I released the brakes. My intention was to go to the left side. 

"But the bike stayed on a lean and I couldn't avoid going to the right side. I was able to avoid Martin but couldn't avoid Miguel. I was very worried because the contact was big.

"I already said it personally – but I want to say sorry to him, to his team, to the Portuguese fans. 

"I have been penalised for that mistake with a double long lap penalty, that I completely, completely agree."

Marc Marquez has been hit with a double long-lap penalty following his Portuguese Grand Prix crash on Sunday.

The six-time MotoGP champion started on pole in Portimao, but a costly mistake brought his race to a premature end.

Marquez ploughed into Miguel Oliveira at Turn 3 early in the race, resulting in both riders dramatically crashing out.

The Spaniard also forced Jorge Martin wide, which saw his compatriot lose several positions.

Marquez could miss the next round in Argentina, as he waits to discover if he suffered a fracture to the first metacarpal bone in his right hand.

If he is passed fit for that race, the 30-year-old will face a penalty after the stewards ruled that he was guilty of irresponsible riding.

Marquez said: "Honestly speaking, I am not worried about Argentina. Today, the most important is that Miguel is okay. Because I did a big mistake on Turn [3], in the first part, and this created everything.

"I braked and had a massive lock with the front tyre. That meant that I released the brakes. My intention was to go to the left side. But the bike stayed on a lean and I couldn't avoid going to the right side.

"I was able to avoid Martin but couldn't avoid Miguel. I was very worried for him because the contact was big.

"I already said it personally – but I want to say sorry to him, to his team, to the Portuguese fans. I have been penalised for that mistake with a double long lap penalty, that I completely, completely agree.

"But apart from that, I have a few injuries – my hand, my knee. We need to check. Let's see. At the moment it's not the most important, my situation."

Oliveira suffered from a contusion in his right leg on home soil in a race that was won by Francesco Bagnaia, who completed a double after his success in the sprint race on Saturday.

Marc Marquez savoured his first pole position for three years at the Grand Prix of Japan but is realistic about his chances of winning the race on Sunday.

Marquez only returned following a three-month absence in the last round at Aragon after undergoing a fourth operation on his right arm.

The Repsol Honda rider was back in business on a wet Saturday in Motegi, where there was a 90-minute delay to the schedule due to heavy rain before the Spaniard clocked a fastest lap of one minute, 55.214 seconds to take his first pole for 1,071 days.

Johann Zarco took second place behind the six-time MotoGP champion, with Brad Binder securing third for a race that is forecast to be run in drier conditions.

Championship leader Fabio Quartararo could only qualify in ninth, with Aleix Espargaro the best placed of the title contenders in sixth and Francesco Bagnaia back in 12th.

Marquez was thrilled to finally put himself at the front of the grid and hopes his exploits can give his team a lift, but knows it will be a different story come race day.

He said: "I'm really happy to be back in pole position. It's only pole position, it's in wet, but in the situation we are in right now with team right now, it's really good news for us.

"We need the small achievements, we need the motivations. I'm happy, it was the time to do it. I feel like in FP2 the lap time was coming and if it's wet in the afternoon I have a big chance.

"That's what I did, I tried to attack and I did a good lap, I didn't exaggerate but it was enough to be on pole position. Tomorrow will be a different story, but today we must be happy."

Enea Bastianini's hopes of stepping up a title challenge were rocked by a crash in Q1. He is set to start 15th.

 

PROVISIONAL GRID

1. Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda) – 1:55.214
2. Johann Zarco (Pramac Racing) +0.208s
3. Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) +0.323s
4. Maverick Viñales (Aprilia) +0.406s
5. Jorge Martin (Pramac Racing) +0.472s
6. Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia) +0.557s
7. Jack Miller (Ducati) +0.570s
8. Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) +0.681s
9. Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha) +1.112s
10. Luca Marini (Mooney VR46 Racing Team) +1.140s

Marc Marquez will make his competitive return at next weekend's Aragon Grand Prix after nearly four months out of action.

The six-time world champion has not raced competitively since the Italian GP on May 29 due to undergoing surgery on his right arm.

That was the fourth time Marquez had gone under the knife since breaking his arm in a crash at the Spanish GP in July 2020.

After completing a two-day test in Misano and intensive training at home, Repsol Honda confirmed on Tuesday the Spaniard will take part in the 15th race of the season.

Commenting on the news in a video message posted on social media, Marquez said: "As you can see, I'm smiling, which means I'll be at the Aragon GP. Racing, of course. 

"After talking to the doctors and the team, we have decided that the best for my recovery is to continue on the bike, adding up kilometres for next year.

"Doing it in the Aragon GP in front of all the fans is priceless. I'm sure your support will help me go through the whole weekend. Looking forward to Friday and being on the bike."

Marquez has won the Aragon GP a record five times in MotoGP, but he finished second to Francesco Bagnaia in last year's thrilling battle.

Joan Mir has signed a two-year deal to become compatriot Marc Marquez's Repsol Honda team-mate.

Suzuki Ecstar rider Mir will join Marquez at Honda for the 2023 and 2024 MotoGP seasons.

The 24-year-old agreed to make the move after Suzuki confirmed this will be their last season competing in the premier class.

Mir, the 2020 MotoGP world champion, follows his team-mate Alex Rins in switching from Suzuki to Honda.

The Spaniard is relishing his next challenge and is determined to finishing this season strongly when he has recovered from an ankle injury that will keep him out of the San Marino Grand Prix this weekend.

He said: "I'm very excited to officially announce that I will join the Repsol Honda Team next year.

"Thanks to HRC for trusting me and giving me the opportunity to defend these historic colours, which are full of history and world titles.

"We will take advantage of all my experience accumulated over the years in MotoGP with Suzuki to contribute as much as possible to the project and to fight together to become world champions again.

"Now it's time to continue focused on my recovery to return to the circuits as soon as possible and have a great end of the season with Team Suzuki Ecstar."

Meanwhile, Aprilia Racing and RNF on Tuesday confirmed that Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) and Raul Fernandez (Tech3 KTM Factory Racing) will be racing RS-GPs next season in the Noale factory's new Independent Team.

Marc Marquez revealed he has been suffering from double vision again after a huge crash that ruled him out of the Indonesian Grand Prix on Sunday.

The six-time MotoGP champion hit the ground hard in a massive highside at Turn 7 during the warm-up for the race at the Pertamina Mandalika Circuit.

Marquez was left dazed after landing heavily and was taken to hospital for a check-up.

The Repsol Honda rider suffered concussion and was unable to start the first grand prix in Indonesia since 1997.

Marquez was diagnosed with diplopia following a crash in practice at the Portuguese Grand Prix last year and the Spaniard has been troubled by the same issue following his latest accident.

The 29-year-old revealed he has not suffered as badly as he did previously and did not state whether he will be able to get back on his bike for the next race in Argentina on April 3.

He tweeted on Tuesday: "It seems that I am experiencing deja vu... During the trip back to Spain, I began to have discomfort with my vision, and we decided to visit Dr. Sanchez Dalmau, who confirmed that I have a new episode of diplopia.

"Fortunately, it is less severe than the injury I had at the end of last year. But now it's time to rest and wait to see how the injury evolves."

Marc Marquez will miss the Valencia Grand Prix this weekend as he is suffering from issues with his vision.

Repsol Honda rider Marquez sat out the Algarve Grand Prix on Sunday following a training crash that left him with slight concussion.

The six-time MotoGP champion has also been ruled out of the last race of the season in Valencia and testing in Jerez on November 18 and 19.

A statement from the Spaniard's team said: "The Repsol Honda Team rider will not participate in the Valencia Grand Prix this coming weekend, nor in the IRTA Jerez Test scheduled for November 18 and 19.

"After Marc Marquez underwent a medical examination at the Dexeus Clinic in Barcelona last Tuesday, in which he was evaluated after a fall while practicing off-road, the rider has been resting all week at his home in Cervera.

"During these days of rest, Marc has continued to feel unwell and has suffered from vision problems, which is why this Monday he was visited by the ophthalmologist Dr. Sanchez Dalmau at the Hospital Clinic de Barcelona, who examined him and performed the tests, which detected a new episode of diplopia."

Marquez suffered the accident last Saturday while preparing for the penultimate round of the season in Portimao, where he would have been going in search of a third successive win.

The 28-year-old missed the start of the season as he continued to recover from a serious arm injury.

He returned at the Portuguese Grand Prix in April and is sixth in the standings with 142 points following back-to-back victories in Austin and at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, when Fabio Quartararo sealed the title.

Marc Marquez will miss the Algarve Grand Prix this weekend after suffering a "slight concussion" when he crashed in training.

The six-time MotoGP champion suffered the accident last Saturday while preparing for the penultimate round of the season in Portimao, where he would have been going in search of a third successive win..

Marquez was still feeling unwell on Tuesday following a few days of rest at home and the Repsol Honda rider will not race at the Algarve Motorsports Park as a precautionary measure after a medical check-up.

The Spaniard's team said in a statement: "This past Saturday Marc Marquez, while preparing for the Algarve Grand Prix with one of his standard off-road training sessions, suffered a fall that caused a slight head concussion.

"After a few days of rest at home and seeing that he was still unwell, today Marquez has been assessed by doctors in a medical check-up to evaluate his current status.

"As a precautionary measure, this coming weekend Marquez will not contest the Algarve Grand Prix."

Marquez missed the start of the season as he continued to recover from a serious arm injury.

He returned at the Portuguese Grand Prix in April and is sixth in the standings with 142 points following back-to-back victories in Austin and at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, when Fabio Quartararo sealed the title.

Maverick Vinales is full of confidence after putting his disastrous German Grand Prix showing behind him to claim pole position for Sunday's Dutch TT.

The Monster Energy Yamaha rider finished last at Sachsenring last week, but stuck with the same bike at Assen and dominated qualifying on Saturday.

Vinales topped FP1, FP1 and FP3 before setting a new lap record of 1:31.814 seconds in qualifying, the 26-year-old finishing 0.071s ahead of team-mate Fabio Quartararo.

It was the perfect response on the back of last week's calamity, but Vinales insists the dominant showing at Assen should not come as a surprise.

"Honestly this should be the norm all weekends," he said. "I think we have a good level, our confidence is high.

"I have a really high confidence in what we are able to do but just we didn't find the way to do it before.

"This weekend we didn't touch anything. I said, 'don't touch the bike, it's perfect'. And working on that, it was good, I'm quite happy and now we'll see.

"Tomorrow we have a good chance, we will push at the maximum. For me the result isn't important – for me it's important to give the maximum from one to lap 25."

Ducati's Francesco Bagnaia will join Yamaha pair Vinales and Quartararo on the front row for Sunday's race, while Takaaki Nakagami and Johann Zarco are on row two.

Quartararo tops the riders' standings and has a 22-point lead on Johann Zarco, but the Frenchman accepts he faces a tough task overhauling Vinales on Sunday.

"I think with Maverick we need to be clever, because it's true that on the paper we have really good pace," he said.

"So, I think if we need to play something in my opinion it's great to be clever on the first lap and see at the end.

"But it will depend. I feel great to fight for the victory. It's not that because my main contenders are behind me that I need to be careful.

"For me, it’s the beginning of the championship, we are not even in the middle. So, if I have one chance to fight for the victory I will go for it."

Marc Marquez came out on top in Germany last week, but he will start from 20th in Sunday's 26-lap Dutch TT after crashing in qualifying.

The Repsol Honda rider was flung from his RC213V early on in Friday's FP2 session and admits that accident affected him the following day.

"It's true that today I started the morning and the first thing was I was like, 'OK, it will be impossible to ride the bike' because after the crash from yesterday I had a lot of pain," he said.

"Then it was very difficult. This was in the morning, then in the afternoon step by step I felt better, and this makes me happy because it looks like now if it's in a better way.

"But it's true that the crash from yesterday affected me a lot today."

Provisional classification

1. Maverick Vinales (Monster Energy Yamaha) 1:31.814
2. Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha) +0.071s
3. Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati) +0.302s
4. Takaaki Nakagami (LCR Honda) +0.500s
5. Johann Zarco (Pramac Racing) +0.580s
6. Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM) +0.636s
7. Alex Rins (Suzuki Ecstar) +0.783s
8. Jack Miller (Ducati) +0.795s
9. Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia) +0.852s
10. Joan Mir (Suzuki Ecstar) +0.934s
11. Pol Espargaro (Repsol Honda) +1.016s
12. Valentino Rossi (Petronas Yamaha) +1.105

Marc Marquez did not finish a MotoGP race for the third straight time, a career first, as Miguel Oliveira triumphed at the Catalan Grand Prix.

Six-time MotoGP champion Marquez has not had the best of luck since returning from an injury that kept him out for the majority of 2020 and, after crashing in the Italian Grand Prix last week, the Spaniard suffered a similar fate on Sunday.

Marquez, aiming for a fifth consecutive podium finish in his home grand prix, spun out of control at turn 10, shortly after Danilo Petrucci and Pol Espargaro had crashed out, with Aleix Espargaro soon joining his younger sibling.

Aleix Espargaro, sixth at the time, fell foul of the same corner that did for Marquez, who desperately tried to right his bike but was swiftly ushered away by track emergency staff as he followed up retirements in France and Italy.

Turn 10 subsequently claimed another big name, Valentino Rossi, who managed his best finish of the season at the Italian Grand Prix (10th) but ended up skidding off the track here.

Yet up ahead, it was a demonstration of complete control from Oliveira (Red Bull KTM), who led for 23 laps in total after capitalising on a mistake from early front-runner Jack Miller.

The Australian had himself pounced on an error by championship leader Fabio Quartararo, who had claimed his fifth consecutive pole and was aiming for a career-first fourth win of a single season.

Yet despite fighting back to close the gap on Oliveira, Quartararo could not win in Barcelona as he did in 2020, and ultimately had to settle for fourth place, missing out on a third straight podium finish at the circuit.

Johann Zarco's daring overtake with three laps to go did the initial damage for Quartararo, who lost part of his protective leathers as he attempted to hold off Miller's challenge for third, but the Monster Energy Yamaha driver was handed a three second penalty.

It is Miller's first appearance on the Barcelona podium in seven attempts in MotoGP, while Zarco has surpassed his previous best tally of three top-three finishes in a single season.

Yet the day belonged to Oliveira, the Portuguese rider holding steady to clinch a third MotoGP race win.

TOP 10
1. Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM)
2. Johann Zarco (Pramac Racing) +0.175
3. Jack Miller (Ducati) +1.990s
4. Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha) +4.815s
5. Joan Mir (Suzuki Ecstar) +5.325s
6. Maverick Vinales (Monster Energy Yamaha) +6.281s
7. Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati) +8.175s
8. Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM) +8.378s
9. Franco Morbidelli (Petronas Yamaha) +15.652s
10. Enea Bastianini (Reale Avintia Racing) +19.297s

CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS

Riders

1. Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha) 118
2. Johann Zarco (Pramac Racing) 101
3. Jack Miller (Ducati) 90
4. Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati) 88
5. Joan Mir (Suzuki Ecstar) 76

Teams
1. Monster Energy Yamaha 192
2. Ducati 178
3. Pramac Racing 124
4. Suzuki Ecstar 99
5. Red Bull KTM 97

What's next?

The MotoGP schedule takes in Germany, with Chemnitz's Sachsenring hosting the German Grand Prix in two weeks' time.

Fabio Quartararo claimed his fifth consecutive pole position on Saturday and revealed he is preferring qualifying sessions to races right now, even as he leads the MotoGP world championship.

Having won three of the first six events this season – including the Italian Grand Prix last time out – Quartararo is 24 points clear at the top of the standings. He has never won more than three races in a campaign in the top category.

But the Monster Energy Yamaha sensation is arguably reserving his best displays for Saturdays.

After another outstanding performance in qualifying at the Catalunya Grand Prix, Quartararo will again line up on the front row.

This career-best run of poles means the Frenchman becomes the 15th rider to reach 15 in the premier class and he is well placed to repeat his impressive past race performances in Barcelona.

Quartararo's first ever podium came at the event in 2019, while he won in 2020.

Yet even another victory might not be as enjoyable as the qualifying session in which he bettered Jack Miller with a time of a minute and 38.853 seconds. He had remarkably already lapped in under 1:40 seven times in FP4.

"Qualifying is the best thing to do on a race weekend," he said. "I enjoy it much more than the race because you push yourself to the limit."

Quartararo even felt he could have performed better as he took pole, although his level of performance on both medium and hard tyres means there is a decision still to make on Sunday.

Jorge Lorenzo, in 2012 and 2013, was the last man to celebrate back-to-back Catalunya GP wins.

"The pace was great, medium and hard," Quartararo said. "The qualifying was great and I did a great first run. But actually, my lap was not that perfect.

"I thought I could improve a little bit more and on my second run I prepared really well the rear tyre, but I went on the yellow flag in sector three.

"But the most important thing is we're on the front row, P1. I'm so happy to see the fans back and I think it's giving a boost for everyone."

The previous rider to have five successive poles was Marc Marquez, with seven across 2013 and 2014.

But the six-time MotoGP champion failed to even make Q2 on Saturday and explained that a circuit where he has four podiums in a row is not suited to his Repsol Honda.

"Our weak point is the traction, and at this circuit, if you don't have the traction, it's impossible to be fast," said Marquez, who is aiming to avoid three straight retirements for the first time in his top category career.

"At the other circuits, you can brake later, stop, go, pick up. But here, at Turn 2, Turn 3, Turn 4, if you don't have the grip, it's impossible.

"Even in '19, when I was in a sweet moment, I was struggling here. Okay, you can say, 'You win the race', but I won the race because there was a strike in Turn 10. If not, I wasn't able to win the race.

"But anyway, let's see if tomorrow we can finish the race and continue this calendar."


Provisional classification

1. Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha) 1:38.853
2. Jack Miller (Ducati) +0.037s
3. Johann Zarco (Pramac Racing) +0.196s
4. Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM) +0.246s
5. Franco Morbidelli (Petronas Yamaha) +0.256s
6. Maverick Vinales (Monster Energy Yamaha) +0.304s
7. Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia) +0.365s
8. Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM) +0.490s
9. Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati) +0.506s
10. Joan Mir (Suzuki Ecstar) +0.578s
11. Valentino Rossi (Petronas Yamaha) +0.752s
12. Pol Espargaro (Repsol Honda) +2.938s

Marc Marquez had forecast the need to "gamble" on Sunday, but he was angry with his execution after crashing twice at a flag-to-flag French Grand Prix he briefly led.

The Repsol Honda superstar was hoping for a wet race to give him the best chance of a first victory since his injury at Le Mans.

The looming dark clouds delivered early in Sunday's race and Marquez, starting from sixth on the grid, stormed into contention.

Aiming for a fourth French GP win – only he and Valentino Rossi have three MotoGP victories – Marquez emerged from the pit lane in the lead after switching bikes.

That advantage did not last long as a dramatic fall saw the Spaniard flip through the air after flying off the slippery surface.

Yet that was not the crash that upset Marquez, who continued the grand prix and had recovered to reach 11th when he skidded off the track a second time and was ruled out.

"In the rain, I had a better chance of having a good race, but also of crashing," he told Sky Sport. "In the dry, I saw that there was a limit, but after the flag-to-flag I felt good.

"In the first crash, the bike slid a lot. Even with the medium tyre, at the beginning, I had to be a bit calmer, but it can happen.

"Then I got back on the bike and I was running very fast. The second fall is the one that angers me most.

"The first could happen because it was wet, I was warming the tyres... it happened to many riders.

"The second makes me angry because I was pushing too hard even though I was struggling to stay 100 per cent focused on the bike. At that point, I was thinking more about getting back in to put on the dry tyres than about riding.

"That's why it made me angry. There is a risk and I need to manage it better."

Although Marquez shouldered his fair share of blame, he was disenchanted with the performance of his Repsol Honda bike.

He said: "If it is a step back, what can be used to take the races more calmly? If we look at the Honda crashes, it's not just me. All our bikes have crashed.

"We're working on it. It is true that I crashed twice in Jerez, though.

"Here, due to the conditions we had, we had a good weekend, but today was not a good Sunday. Today I was not good, I didn't risk when I had to risk and I risked too much when I didn't have to."

Marquez was not the only former champion to make a costly mistake, with 2020 title-winner Joan Mir unable to finish after his own crash.

The Suzuki Ecstar rider went down approaching the pit lane and then dashed towards his second bike on foot when the damaged first would not restart.

The failure to enter the pit lane with his machine meant Mir was not allowed to continue.

"I don't know what happened honestly," he said. "For my part, I have to say sorry to the team because I made a mistake.

"I saw that the bike was not running and I started to run to the box. I knew I had to come with the bike, but the bike was a bit damaged and I started to run.

"I don't know why, the adrenaline or something. But from this experience I will learn for the future, I will not repeat it, that's for sure."

Victory instead went to Jack Miller for the second race running, his tally of MotoGP wins swelling from one through 102 grands prix to three through 104.

Miller ran off into the gravel at one stage and later had to serve a double long-lap penalty, but he has back-to-back wins for just the second time in all categories, having also achieved the feat in Moto3 in 2014.

"That was hectic, very hectic," he said, adding: "It's absolutely amazing. I can't believe it.

"Back-to-back wins like this are just fantastic and I can't thank the team enough. They're awesome."

Marc Marquez is hoping for rain at the French Grand Prix in order to challenge pole-sitter Fabio Quartararo, although he acknowledges a tough, dry race may be better for his rehabilitation.

Repsol Honda superstar Marquez broke his arm at the first event of the 2020 season and failed to return, seeing his run of four straight MotoGP titles come to an end.

The six-time champion only made his comeback at the Portuguese Grand Prix and is still getting to grips with his bike again.

Marquez has finished P7 and P9 but will start from sixth on the grid at Le Mans on Sunday after a strong Q2 in which he briefly led the way and finished only 0.437 seconds off pace-setter Quartararo.

The Spaniard won on his past two appearances at Le Mans and has a joint-high three victories in France, but he recognises the weather will have to play in his favour this time.

"It's true that to have a dry race in a good pace is impossible at the moment, because only in six laps I struggled the last laps," he said after qualifying.

"But it's true that if it's wet it's more a gamble. Now is time to take that gamble."

He added: "On one side, I'd prefer a dry race, because like this I continue with my preparation, with my rehabilitation.

"But it's true that, if it's raining, it's not a problem for me. It will be less demanding for the physical condition and will be a lot better."

There is the potential for a wet race, according to the forecast, although similar was true of Saturday, resulting in "mixed" conditions.

When it was put to Marquez that he was "the master" in such scenarios, he corrected the reporter. "I was the master in those conditions," he said, emphasising the past tense.

Quartararo is now the man to catch, having secured pole position for a third consecutive grand prix for the first time in his career despite having surgery following an arm pump issue in a collapse last time out in Spain.

The 22-year-old is already the most successful French rider in MotoGP history with five race wins, yet the most recent home victor at the French GP in the top category was Pierre Monneret in 1954 and Quartararo has never reached the podium in any category at the event.

He started from pole last year, too, but came ninth, and said at Parc Ferme on Saturday: "In the last lap, I said I crash or I make front row.

"That was real, because in the last sector I pushed myself to the limit.

"I even didn't know until I arrived here that I made pole position. I saw the three bikes and I said, 'Oh, it's a shame we are not in the front row', and then I saw my mechanics moving.

"It's pole position and I'm so happy to make it two years in a row in my home GP."

An intriguing Sunday lies ahead, with world champion Joan Mir starting from 14th and 2021 leader Fabio Bagnaia 16th.


Provisional classification

1. Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha) 1:32.600
2. Maverick Vinales (Monster Energy Yamaha) +0.081s
3. Jack Miller (Ducati) +0.104s
4. Franco Morbidelli (Petronas Yamaha) +0.166s
5. Johann Zarco (Pramac Racing) +0.277s
6. Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda) +0.437s
7. Takaaki Nakagami (LCR Honda) +0.520s
8. Pol Espargaro (Repsol Honda) +0.550s
9. Valentino Rossi (Petronas Yamaha) +0.791s
10. Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM) +1.267s
11. Lorenzo Savadori (Aprilia) +1.658s
12. Luca Marini (Esponsorama) +1.665s

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