Marc Marquez withdraws from Dutch MotoGP: 'Aggravated injuries'
"Marc Marquez will sit out the Grand Prix at the TT Circuit Assen after being declared unfit as a result of the injuries sustained at the German GP last week, which have been aggravated further in Assen," read a Sunday morning statement from Repsol Honda.
Following last weekend's punishing five falls, which eventually prompted his exit from the German GP, Marquez has been on subdued form at Assen.
The Spanish star finished just 17th, where he had qualified, in Saturday's Sprint race as he continued to struggle with pain from a rib fracture.
Marquez posted on Twitter: "As you know, I have not arrived at Assen at 100% physically. In addition to the sprain and the finger fracture, there is a fractured rib that has been causing me a lot of pain.
"I woke up this morning with a lot of pain and, after a check-up, we have decided together with the medical team, not to race today to prevent it from getting worse and be able to recover the following weeks."
Marquez's exit from the Dutch TT means he will go into the summer break having failed to finish any of the eight grand prix races so far this season.
The eight-time world champion crashed out of Portimao, Le Mans and Mugello, missed the Termas, COTA, Jerez weekends entirely (due to the thumb fracture in Portimao) and has now withdrawn from the Sunday races at Sachsenring and Assen.
Marquez began the season on pole in Portimao, where he also took third in the Sprint race, but the deficiencies of the 'unpredictable' RC213V have become increasingly clear with Marquez, team-mate Joan Mir and COTA winner Alex Rins all sidelined by injuries.
"[You] don't have any warning," stand-in team-mate Iker Lecuona said yesterday. "The bike is critical and sometimes you don't have time to do nothing [to save it] because you don't feel nothing.”
Marquez, who has not won a MotoGP race since Misano 2021, now has until the British Grand Prix at Silverstone in early August to regain fitness.
