Alex Marquez could miss final day after fracturing right foot
Maverick Vinales led a Yamaha one-two-three on day four of MotoGP testing in Qatar, ahead of team-mate Fabio Quartararo and Petronas Yamaha's Franco Morbidelli, while Alex Marquez fractures foot in another crash.
LCR Honda's struggles continued in Qatar as Marquez suffered his fifth crash in four days and fractured his right foot in the process.
The 2019 rookie high sided at the turn 9 right-hander which brought out a brief red flag. The crash meant an early finish to the day and a hospital visit for mandatory checks.
"I was trying some important things in the first part of the session because we won’t have those conditions during practice for the race weekend," said Marquez.
"I then put a new tyre to make a time attack because it is something I need to improve and that’s when I crashed. It was a highside at T9. Fortunately, I am OK. I have a small crack in my right foot.
"Tomorrow if we have good weather and conditions then I will try to push the doctor to ride because I feel good and I have already ridden races with this broken bone. I don’t think it will be a problem to be on the bike."
As Marquez alluded to, he is hoping to ride on the final day of testing, but could be forced to sit out by the doctor if deemed unfit.
If Marquez can ride, the final day will be about completing further race simulations and time attack laps.
The 24 year-old added: "We have more work to do for the GP, like race simulation and some time attacks.
"I crashed at a time when I felt better with the bike, so good. I just try to gain in one corner where I was already fast, for example faster than the lap Pol did yesterday, but I found a little bit more and made a mistake.
"I need to focus on other corners where I am losing a bit more. Just to control these limits.
"I’m sorry for the team because I crashed many times, but this is a special track, many crashes happen and also it's difficult to understand the hot conditions with the Medium and Hard. These things will be difficult to manage during the GP but I am confident and I felt good before the crash."
Aside from the first day, Marquez has been outside the top ten since, and finished P17 on day four. Honda have had ten crashes across their four riders so far, while Pol Espargaro has shone brightest.
