Alex Marquez cleared to take part in Czech GP just weeks after neck-breaking crash

Updated: 14:47, 18 Jun

Andrew McLarney is a MotoGP reporter for GPBlog. With four years experience as a professional writer across the sports and video game industries, his experience as a K1 Premier League competitor evolved into a fascination with all forms of combat sport and eventually motorsport — with MotoGP becoming his primary focus. On top of that he is also an avid follower of MXGP and AMA Supercross as well as F1 and GT racing.

Alex Marquez has been given the green light to take part in this weekend's Czech Grand Prix, pending a further assessment at the end of FP1.

The Gresini rider suffered a brutal crash at the Catalan Grand Prix last month, fracturing the C7 neck vertebrae as well as breaking his collar bone in three different places.

The remarkable return means that Alex has missed just two rounds of action after a crash which would have written off most riders' entire season. The shocking incident was one of the worst in recent memory for the MotoGP audience, and has even led to several rules being reconsidered.

Having underdone a medical assessment earlier in the week, it has now been confirmed that Alex will indeed take part in FP1 on Friday, and undergo a further examination after that to determine his fitness for the rest of the weekend.

The latest in a long injury list

Alex Marquez is only one of the latest MotoGP rider to suffer a brutal injury this year. The 2026 season has already been harsh on many of the riders, and it started before the season even began.

First of all there were major lingering issues for both Marc Marquez and Maverick Vinales, both of which had to undergo emergency surgeries during the first half of the year to have metal screws removed from their shoulders.

Then there was Gresini's youngster, Fermin Aldeguer, who broke his femur during pre-season training and was seen barely able to walk, hobbling back to his bike and into the points at just the second round of the year in Brazil.

Marc Marquez once again crashed heavily in both Jerez and Le Mans, with the latter crash breaking his foot and forcing him to be sidelined for the Catalan Grand Prix.

The Catalan Grand Prix was one of the darkest weekends in recent memory as both Alex Marquez and Johann Zarco were hospitalized in two separate, brutal incidents. While Alex is planning to make his return this weekend in Brno, Zarco remains sidelined due to ongoing complications with his recovery.

Pos.	Driver	Team	Points
1	Kimi Antonelli Kimi Antonelli	MercedesMER	156
2	Lewis Hamilton Lewis Hamilton	FerrariFER	115
3	George Russell George Russell	MercedesMER	106
4	Charles Leclerc Charles Leclerc	FerrariFER	75
5	Lando Norris Lando Norris	McLarenMCL	73
6	Oscar Piastri Oscar Piastri	McLarenMCL	70
7	Max Verstappen Max Verstappen	Red Bull RacingRBR	55
8	Isack Hadjar Isack Hadjar	Red Bull RacingRBR	37
9	Pierre Gasly Pierre Gasly	AlpineALP	32
10	Liam Lawson Liam Lawson	Racing BullsRCB	28
11	Franco Colapinto Franco Colapinto	AlpineALP	19
12	Oliver Bearman Oliver Bearman	HaasHAA	18
13	Arvid Lindblad Arvid Lindblad	Racing BullsRCB	14
14	Carlos Sainz Carlos Sainz	WilliamsWIL	6
15	Alexander Albon Alexander Albon	WilliamsWIL	5
16	Esteban Ocon Esteban Ocon	HaasHAA	3
17	Gabriel Bortoleto Gabriel Bortoleto	AudiAUD	2
18	Fernando Alonso Fernando Alonso	Aston MartinAST	1
19	Nico Hulkenberg Nico Hulkenberg	AudiAUD	0
20	Valtteri Bottas Valtteri Bottas	CadillacCAD	0
21	Sergio Perez Sergio Perez	CadillacCAD	0
22	Lance Stroll Lance Stroll	Aston MartinAST	0

Alex Marquez cleared to take part in Czech GP just weeks after neck-breaking crash

The latest in a long injury list

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