Marquez limping to title defense

His broken leg is mending fast, but Honda's Marc Marquez will still be starting his MotoGP title defense on the back foot in Qatar on Sunday.

The 21-year-old Spaniard, who in his rookie season became the youngest champion in motorcycling's top category, fractured the fibula in his right leg while dirt bike riding six weeks ago.

The injury meant he missed two of his team's three preseason tests in Malaysia and Australia, although the leg was not put in a cast.

Marquez has undergone extensive therapy, but has not ridden a MotoGP bike since Feb 6.

"It was very disappointing for me to miss the two tests, but the good news is I am getting better and the bone is mending," Marquez said before flying to Doha for Sunday's floodlit night race at the Losail desert circuit.

"I have been exercising more, so I will have to see how I am in Qatar. I don't expect to be 100 percent, but I will try my hardest.

"The important thing is to take some valuable points and then get up to 100 percent by round two in Austin (Texas)," said the champion.

Marquez was third on his MotoGP debut in Qatar last year after winning the 2012 Moto2 race, and went on to chalk up six victories.

While Marquez has had to put his feet up, teammate and injury-prone compatriot Dani Pedrosa did plenty of laps in testing and has been putting in extra time in the gym to ensure he is in top physical shape.

Pedrosa has the fewest worries of Spain's crop of top riders, with Yamaha's double world champion and 2013 runner-up Jorge Lorenzo undergoing three operations in the offseason after breaking his collarbone last year.

"I am not in shape," he told Italy's Gazzetta dello Sport. "I began gym work late and I am far from last year's condition."

Lorenzo, whose teammate is again 35-year-old Italian great Valentino Rossi, had struggled with Bridgestone's new tires in Malaysia but went on to dominate the test at Australia's Phillip Island.

Moto2 champion Pol Espargaro, the latest Spanish addition to the top category, will be riding with a broken collarbone when he makes his debut on the Tech3 Yamaha. He had a titanium plate inserted last week after crashing in the final pre-season test for non-factory teams in Qatar on March 9.

His older brother, Aleix, will also be on track as the Spaniards become the first siblings to race each other in the top category since Nicky and Lee Hayden at the 2010 US Grand Prix at Laguna Seca.

Britain's Cal Crutchlow, fifth overall last year with Tech3, makes his Ducati debut with the Italian team, which has given up factory status and taken the gamble of switching to the Open class.

That means Ducati will have to use standard control units and software but can use four more liters of fuel per race, softer tires and have a bigger allocation of engines.

"This year we have to keep developing our bikes throughout the season to improve our competitiveness, and the factory option appears to be too restrictive for our needs," said general manager Luigi Dall'Igna.

(China Daily 03/20/2014 page24)