Marc Marquez, who has garnered the world champion title for eight times, has his future on the clock according to Keith Huewen, after he was forced to skip Argentina’s Grand Prix this weekend due to diplopia diagnosis.
MotoGP rider Marc Marquez remains plagued with injuries after being diagnosed with a third case of double vision, the second in a period of six months.
A catastrophic crash in his warm up session was what ruled out Marquez from taking part in the Grand Prix, which turned out to be among the worst weekends of his entire career. All the crashes he suffered were above 100 mph.
Marquez fell off from his Honda RC213V bike and slammed his head hard on the track, leaving the rider in a critical condition. He was seen walking about disoriented following the incident.
Keith Huewen believes that Marquez's remarkable MotoGP career is in danger of being overshadowed by diplopia, or double vision as it is amongst the most serious illnesses an athlete can sustain.
During the MotoGP podcast, Huewen said that Marquez would be better off retiring, despite not feeling mentally good about it.
He also added - “The time is ticking. That’s something I believe we all have been through at some point of time in our lives. Initially, he had experienced a lot of crashes in which he was not hurt, and then everyone said “it’s just about time”, now when he has horrific crashes leaving him injured and in a bad state, everyone would say “one day he will have a crash which will bring his career to an end”.
“Being a part of journalists and sports speculators, talking about it is something inevitable. The injury he is suffering from right now is not a mechanical ailment which can be treated mechanically.”
For me, as a non-medical person, an injury to the eyes is similar to one caused to the brain. Nothing can really be done about it and you must deal with it regardless of the situation.
More crashes could make him more vulnerable, which is something to worry about. He will be unconsciously anxious about every small thing he does from now on after every crash he encounters and every time he rebounds from it.”
What impact will this have on the Rider's off-track performance?
Breaking records seemed to be more a question of 'when' than 'if' for Marquez who has been the premier world champion for six times. He was at the pinnacle of his abilities in just about 2019.
Huewen also feels that the Spaniard's prolonged diplopia difficulties could damage his emotional well-being, given that the previous three years have been characterized more by sustaining crashes and injuries than success and accomplishment. Naturally, this all had an adverse affect on him - both physically and mentally.
Unluckily, all his crashes are becoming major catastrophes now.”
“You are not allowed to smack your head. It has been reiterated so many times. In MotoGP, we all are really concerned with injuries, concussions and horrific crashes.”
It's unclear whether Marquez will be allowed to take part in next week's MotoGP, since the statement by Honda focused entirely on his absence from the Argentina round. To evaluate his participation, a second inspection will be conducted at the beginning of next week.