While Alex Marquez is vomiting, Marc Marquez is barbecuing!
The injured Repsol Honda rider posted pictures enjoying a barbecue on Sunday ahead of the MotoGP Grand Prix of the Americas - a stark contrast to his brother’s weekend.
Alex Marquez vomited in his helmet before crashing out of the sprint race at COTA, then threw up again in the garage.
Will Marc Marquez be concerned by his absence?
Marc cut a relaxed figure as he recovered from hand surgery sustained when he crashed into Miguel Oliveira in the season-opener at Portimao.
But perhaps he should be more worried - he is already 47 points away from Marco Bezzecchi who leads the MotoGP standings.
Marquez’s hopes to hit 2023 free of injury ended less than three grand prix laps into the new season when an ambitious overtake of Oliveira went wrong.
He may be smiling and enjoying a barbecue in the sun, but he is a seven-time winner of the Grand Prix of the Americas who must realise his hopes of winning this season’s championship are dwindling away as his rivals fight for supremacy on his favourite weekend of the year.
Aged 29 he is the third-oldest rider on the current grid so he must know that time is running out.
Marquez is contracted to Honda for two more years but is stuck with a below-par bike that trails behind the dominance of the Ducatis. His injury history and his machinery are the key issues preventing this incredible talent from claiming a seventh premier class title.
Will Marc Marquez serve a double long lap penalty?
The status of the double long lap penalty he received for that incident remains up in the air.
The MotoGP Court of Appeal granted a “stay of execution” meaning the final decision - whether Marquez must serve the penalty upon his return, or whether it has expired - is yet to be determined.
When will Marc Marquez race again?
Marquez hopes to return at Jerez, the fourth round of the season, from April 28.
Jerez is notoriously the scene of one of Marquez's worst crashes and injuries. He broke his right arm three years ago.
Returning at Jerez will depend entirely on how his hand injury heals. Oscar Haro, the former LCR Honda sporting director, claimed that the bone that Marquez broke is so delicate that, should it be rebroken again, it could result in a four-month absence from MotoGP.
