– Isack Hadjar had to miss the Dutch Grand Prix due to a wrist injury he sustained during training at the gym. However, the crucial advice not to compete in the race came not from the team doctor, but from MotoGP champion Marc Marquez.
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The reigning motorcycle world champion confirmed that Hadjar had turned to him after his injury and asked for advice on how to approach his recovery. For good reason: Marquez himself has suffered numerous injuries throughout his career.
“Of course, I am not a doctor,” the Spaniard says in an interview with MotoGP.com, “but just as advice, because sometimes for a rider – or in this case a racer – it is super difficult, because sometimes you think: ‘Okay, maybe you can do it.'”
Why Marc Marquez advised against Hadjar starting
“But it is difficult to accept: ‘Okay, I will skip this race and prepare better for the next one.'” Hadjar was also initially unsure whether he should start in Zandvoort after all. After all, he had taken his first Formula 1 podium precisely there the previous year.
Photo series: Zandvoort: The driver ratings by Marc Surer and the editorial team
In the end, the decision was against participation – also on Marquez’s advice. “That’s exactly what I said,” reveals the MotoGP rider. “I have learned in the past that skipping a race will not change your life.”
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On the contrary: “Skipping a race or worsening your injury because you ride too early can change your life,” the Ducati factory rider knows from his own experience. “My life has changed a lot since the injury in Jerez.”
Marc Marquez speaks from personal experience …
The Spaniard’s career was almost over back then. During a severe highside at the 2020 season opener in Jerez, he broke a bone in his arm. After an immediate operation, he tried to start again just a few days later at the Andalusian Grand Prix.
But the additional strain on his body weakened the plate attached to his arm. Marquez ultimately missed the entire 2020 season. Only after a fourth operation in 2022 was he able to regain much of the mobility he had lost in his arm.
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“So yes, I just tried to give Hadjar this advice,” says the MotoGP rider, who shares the same physiotherapist, Carlos J. Garcia, as the Formula 1 driver. “I think he made the right decision because he still has a long career ahead of him.”
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