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MotoGP is to get a head start on the implementation of LED flag panels for the remainder of the 2021 MotoGP season. The panels, which will be made compulsory by both the FIM and FIA from 2022, are to be transported from track to track by LED panel manufacturer EM Motorsport, and used for each race.

The panels are already being used in some tracks. They have been present at the Le Mans circuit for a couple of years, where the MotoGP riders got their first taste of them, and Assen fitted LED panels as part of their upgrades to the circuit at the end of the 2019 season.

The riders have been pushing for this to happen for some time, Aleix Espargaro explained at Portimão. "This was one thing that the riders had requested to Dorna. In Le Mans, because of the 24 Hours, we had banners from two or three years ago, and sincerely, it helps in some places in Le Mans. So after the Le Mans race two years ago, we asked Dorna to try to have it everywhere, so they did a great job."

Having LED flag panels will help, but the responsibility will still ultimately lie with rider, Espargaro said. "There are some riders who say it will change their life, and I don't agree. If you don't want to see a yellow flag and you want to keep pushing for your own interest and doing the fast lap, you can put LED panels, you can put a yellow flag in the middle of the corner, you will not close the throttle. But obviously, in some places where you have a big runoff area because it is a very fast corner, the LED panels can help."

The press release from Dorna appears below:

Digital Flag Panels to be used from Portuguese GP
Dorna to install high-tech digital Flag Panels at all MotoGP™ circuits in 2021
Thursday, 15 April 2021

Dorna Sports are delighted to announce an agreement with EM Motorsport to supply the FIM MotoGP™ World Championship with 22 digital, high-tech flag panels for use at each Grand Prix event. From 2022, it will be mandatory for circuits that host MotoGP™ to install T1 or T2 panels following a joint directive from the FIM and FIA to increase the visibility of and information regarding track conditions for all competitors in order to increase their safety during any incident, regardless of the discipline. The introduction of the panels for the rest of the 2021 MotoGP™ season, before they are mandatory, will enable both the riders and each host circuit to become accustomed to the technology before the new regulations come in.

The 22 new high-tech flag panels, which will travel with the MotoGP™ paddock throughout the remainder of 2021, will make their debut at the Grande Premio 888 de Portugal. Homologated Digital Flag Panels provide excellent visibility at high speeds in all weather conditions, making it easier for the riders to know the status of the circuit during sessions and increasing safety significantly. Particularly, EM Motorsport has vigorously tested its Flag Panels to ensure that whatever the weather or lighting conditions, they can be seen clearly utilising a brightness of 64,000 candela per square meter. They have been the first to be homologated by the FIM and FIA.

MotoGP™ will use a combination of T1 and T2 panels, with the T1s being used at long run off areas and fast straights and the T2s covering the rest of the circuit. T1 panels are EM Motorsport’s flagship product, with T2 panels evolving from those to offer the high-end technology to the entirety of the motorsport market. T1 and T2 differ in dimensions and performance in order to adapt to different Championship and circuit needs.

The Flag Panels will be fully integrated into MotoGP™’s current Race Control system, meaning the panels will be controlled first and foremost by Race Control, enabling them to change the status of the entire circuit instantly. Each panel has a console that will be operated by a trackside marshal for localised yellow flags and sector incidents. Marshals will be given full training on how to use the new panels before each event. The positions of the panels around the track will be determined by the FIM MotoGP™ Safety Officer, ensuring that they are placed in the natural eyeline of the riders throughout the lap.

Marc Marquez has finally been given the green light to return to racing. On Friday, the Repsol Honda rider visited the doctors in Madrid who have been treating him since his decision to have a third operation on the right humerus he broke at the opening round in 2020 in Jerez, and the doctors assessed that the bone growth in his humerus was finally strong enough to assume the normal risks associated with racing, and crashing. That means that Marquez will make his MotoGP return next Friday, the 16th of April, when he takes to the track at Portimao for free practice.

It has been a long and difficult road for Marquez. He broke his humerus as he cut his way through the field trying to recover the ground lost after running wide and off track in the opening race of the 2020 season, at Jerez in July. He had surgery later that week, and was doing push ups again on the day after his surgery. He attempted to ride in the Andalusian round at Jerez, the Saturday after breaking his humerus. But he pulled out after FP4.

That attempt to ride proved to be a very bad decision. The stresses involved in preparing and trying to ride stressed the plate inserted into his humerus, and it eventually broke as he tried to open heavy glass patio doors. A second operation to replace the plate resulted in an infection of the bone, preventing the bone from growing and recovering strength, and eventually, a third operation was needed, to clean the infected site, replace the plate a second time, and insert bone growth agent.

Since that operation, in mid-December 2020, Marquez has made slow but steady recovery toward full fitness. He rode a minibike at a track for the first time on March 12th, and took part in a track day on a Honda RC213V-S production bike at Barcelona a couple of days later. Another track day at Portimao followed, but at that point, his doctors judged the bone consolidation of the humerus was not sufficiently advanced to allow the Spaniard to race safely again. Marquez was forced to miss the two opening rounds at Qatar, though at the insistence of his entourage, the press release issued stated only that he would miss the first race, even though Marquez himself posted on social media that he would miss both races.

Another inspection was planned, this time for the week before Portimao. The date for his medical assessment was announced as April 12th, but like many of the announcements in the run up to his return, that date was incorrect, to throw journalists off the trail and allow Marquez to take a more measured approach. He actually underwent the exam on Friday, April 9th, and the announcement he had been passed fit was made this morning, April 10th.

The big question is how Marquez will approach his return, and whether any lingering fears from this traumatic process will affect the riding of the six-time MotoGP champion. There are hints of this in his past. In an interview with MotoMatters at Assen 2018, Marc Marquez talked about fear when riding after the huge crash he suffered at the end of the straight at Mugello in 2013. He didn't believe he was afraid, he explained, but the data showed otherwise. "I think that was because I was afraid, because normally in that point it's full gas, and after that crash I was closing the gas. And my data recording guy says, 'Look at Dani and Cal, they are full gas, just try to be full gas,' but I said to him 'No, I'm full gas'. But I thought that I was full gas, but always I was closing the throttle. I said, 'No, I'm full, check the data', they said 'no, look' and then I went out again and I thought it was full gas, but no, I was closing. But it was the only time. The rest of the time I am not afraid."

His record bears him out. After that incident, Marquez went on to win the title at his first attempt, becoming the youngest ever MotoGP champion in history. And his success continued, winning in 2014, and from 2016 through 2019. In 2019, Marquez achieved the unparalleled feat in the modern era of finishing no lower than second in every race bar Austin, where he crashed out. Marc Marquez may take a little while to get up to speed. But there is little doubt that he will.

The press release from the Repsol Honda team and Marc Marquez' tweet announcing his return appear below:

Marquez cleared to return

In the review carried out on Marc Marquez by the Hospital Ruber Internacional medical team, four months after surgery, led by Doctors Samuel Antuña and Ignacio Roger de Oña, and made up of Doctors De Miguel, Ibarzabal and García Villanueva, for an infected pseudoarthrosis of the right humerus, a very satisfactory clinical condition was found, with evident progress in the bone consolidation process. In the current situation, Marquez can return to competition, assuming the reasonable risk implicit in his sporting activity.

I'M VERY HAPPY! Yesterday I visited the doctors and they gave me the green light to return to competition. They have been 9 difficult months, with moments of uncertainties and ups and downs, and now, I will be able to enjoy my passion again!
See you next week in Portimao!! 😁😁✊🏼 pic.twitter.com/ClZj4L4yf3

— Marc Márquez (@marcmarquez93) April 10, 2021

The 2021 MotoGP season will kick off without six-time MotoGP champion Marc Marquez. After review by the medical team monitoring his recovery from the broken humerus he suffered at the opening MotoGP round of 2020, the decision has been made to postpone a comeback until after the two Qatar rounds.

Marquez had already been riding on MotoGP tracks, the Spaniard having spent a day on track in Barcelona on board a Honda RC213V-S street bike, followed by another day at the Portimao circuit in Portugal. Despite good progress being made, and the positive response his arm had shown to Marquez stepping up his training program, the medical team felt it was better to advise Marquez to skip the first two races to give his arm more time to heal, and for the bone density in his humerus to further improve and gain strength.

The next medical check for Marquez is scheduled for April 12th, in the week before the Portuguese round of MotoGP. That implies that Marquez will also miss the second round in Qatar, set for April 4th, but opens the door for a return in Portugal.

During the Repsol Honda team launch, Marquez had stated quite clearly that he would listen to his doctors and follow their advice. There were question marks over this, however as the Spaniard had already flown out to Qatar to get vaccinated, and made an appearance in the hotel gym to show the other riders present that he was serious about a return. The question was, if Marquez was already in Qatar, would he be able to resist the temptation to jump on a MotoGP bike proper and give it a go.

With this announcement, Marquez has shown he is sticking to the pre-agreed plan. No doubt he has learned the lessons of his attempted early return at the Andalusian round, just a few days after breaking his arm and then having it plated again, which went so horribly wrong and saw him end up with an infection on the bone and a severely weakened humerus, and forced to miss the entire 2020 season. That will likely make him all the more determined once he does return, and more likely to be at full strength.

The press release from the Repsol Honda team appears below:

Marc Marquez to miss opening Qatar race

Marc Marquez, together with his medical team from the Hospital Ruber Internacional, have considered it prudent not to re-join competition this weekend in Qatar.

In the review carried out on the Spanish rider by the medical team led by Doctors Samuel Antuña and Ignacio Roger de Oña, and made up of Doctors De Miguel, Ibarzabal and García Villanueva, 15 weeks after surgery for an infected pseudoarthrosis of the right humerus, a good clinical response has been found after the intensification of his training.

However, considering the time period and the current state of the bone consolidation process, doctors consider it prudent and necessary not to accelerate Marquez’s return to the track after such an inactive time, and to avoid putting the humerus at risk in intense competition. Marquez will undergo another medical check on Monday, April 12.

Marc Marquez

“After the last review with the medical team, the doctors have advised me that the most prudent thing was not to take part in the Qatar Grand Prix and to continue with the recovery plan that we have followed in recent weeks. I would have loved to be able to participate in the opening race of the World Championship, but we will have to continue working to be able to recover the optimal conditions that allow us to return to competition.”

Marc Marquez has finally started taking major steps toward a return to racing in MotoGP. Four major milestones were passed by the six-time MotoGP champion in the past week: he received the go ahead to start training more intensively, he rode a bicycle for the first time in months, he rode a motorcycle for the first time since Jerez last year, and he flew to Qatar to receive the vaccine against Covid-19 being offered by the Qatari regime to everyone in the MotoGP paddock.

On Friday, the Repsol Honda team announced that Marc Marquez had been given the green light to start to intensify his training, as the growth and consolidation of the bone in his right humerus was satisfactory and strong enough for him to start to place serious weight on the arm.

Marquez followed that up on Saturday with a couple of social media posts. In the first one, he was out cycling on his mountain bike, calling that "another small step".

Otro pasito más! Primer día de BTT estrenando mi nueva @MondrakerBikes! 🚵🏽‍♂️
Another step! First BTT day with my new @MondrakerBikes! 💪🏼 pic.twitter.com/HCPn2ZfLyO

— Marc Márquez (@marcmarquez93) March 13, 2021

The second post showed Marquez riding a minibike at an unspecified track, with a caption stating that he had ridden a motorbike for the first time in eight months, since his failed return at the Jerez 2 round at the end of July 2020.

Ayer, después de ocho meses y tras el ok de los doctores, por fin volví a sentir esta sensación aunque fuese con una mini moto 😁👍🏼
Yesterday, after eight months and the Doctors approval in the last check-up,I felt this feeling again although it was with a mini moto! #stepbystep pic.twitter.com/supRUYKmYD

— Marc Márquez (@marcmarquez93) March 13, 2021

To top it all off came the news that Marquez had flown to Qatar on Saturday, in order to vaccinated against the Coronavirus. The Spaniard had arrived on Saturday afternoon, for the specific purpose of receiving the first of his two vaccinations.

This timeline points to a path to Marc Marquez' full time return to the MotoGP paddock. Riding a minibike is a very, very long way from riding a MotoGP machine, but it is a small first step. The next step will be riding his flat track bike, a more physically demanding exercise. From that, he progresses to riding motocross, and then a fully-fledged production sports bike on a proper track.

It seems unlikely that Marquez can fit all that in within the next 13 days before the first race of the season at Qatar. Marquez is on the provisional entry list for Qatar, though that is a formality given he is one of the two official riders in the Repsol Honda team. It does give him options, should he decide he is fit enough, and it also allows Honda to maintain that Stefan Bradl's role is as a test rider, a notion which became more difficult to uphold through 2020 as Marquez missed the entire season.

Marquez will be in Qatar around the time of the first race, though. The Repsol Honda rider has traveled to Qatar to receive his first dose of the vaccine, but most return to be given his second dose in two weeks time. Those jabs are due to be given in the week between the first and second races in Qatar. 

That offers the intriguing prospect of a possible return to racing at the second round in Qatar. The timeframe for the first race is exceptionally tight, and perhaps more challenging that Marquez is willing to attempt given his experience with the aftermath of the Jerez crash last year. The second race is set to happen in three weeks' time, which would give Marquez that little bit of extra time to prepare more fully and test himself on various types of motorcycle.

Of course, Marquez may decide just to head to Qatar for his second vaccination, and then return home to prepare for a return at Portimão on April 18th, or wait another two weeks after that for Jerez. At this point in time, we can only guess: Marquez and his entourage, including his management, have remained silent on their plans, on occasion keeping even Honda in the dark. Marquez will return when he is ready. But that could be sooner than we think.