Diogo Moreira (Honda) had to head for the pits: “It was getting worse and worse!”

Diogo Moreira had a difficult Grand Prix in Qatar on Sunday. Starting from the fifth row of the grid, his starting position was far from ideal. After the start, he managed to work his way up to 11th place in the melee. From lap 6 onwards, however, the Brazilian steadily dropped down the field. By lap 14, Moreira was 15th – with only Honda stand-in Jake Dixon behind him. The Brit then overtook his team-mate, and on lap 16 of 22, Moreira was forced to head for the pits – he simply couldn’t carry on.

After the race, Moreira explained that he had been struggling with physical problems. The trigger was a previous elbow injury that the MotoGP rookie had sustained over a year ago at the Sachsenring whilst competing in the Moto2 class. “Last year I had a crash at the Sachsenring. The main problem now is the nerve in my elbow,” said the LCR Honda rider. “I was already in pain on Saturday in Malaysia, but I rode the race there anyway. Here, though, I was in pain as early as Friday, and it just kept getting worse.”

Willkommen zum Rennen in Katar

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Jorge Martin

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Pedro Acosta

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Marco Bezzecchi

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Raúl Fernández

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Enea Bastianini

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Johann Zarco

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Iker Lecuona

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Pedro Acosta

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Marco Bezzecchi

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Marc Márquez

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Jorge Martin

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Fabio Di Giannantonio

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Fermin Aldeguer

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Marco Bezzecchi gewinnt das Rennen

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Marc Márquez und Raúl Fernández

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Sieger Marco Bezzecchi

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Marc Márquez, Marco Bezzecchi, Raúl Fernández

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Sieger Marco Bezzecchi

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Willkommen zum Rennen in Katar

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Moreira: “I need to recover now, and I’ll be back to 100 per cent in Portimão”

On Saturday, Moreira was able to finish the sprint race. “In the sprint, I felt it in the final laps; by Sunday, it was impossible. I could feel the pain,” lamented the 22-year-old. “There are simply a lot of days on the motorbike at the moment, and Malaysia and Qatar are circuits with lots of right-hand bends. This one (Qatar, ed.) is also a physically demanding circuit. We now have a week to rest and carry on training. I’m sure things will be better again in Portimão.”

Moreira struggled throughout the weekend in Qatar. In qualifying, he could only manage 16th on the grid. He did, however, finish Saturday’s sprint in 10th place. His physical condition prevented him from putting in a better performance.

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“I had a lot of trouble here. I was very tense on the bike, and by the end of the race it was even worse,” said Moreira. “I need to recover now, and I’ll be back to 100 per cent in Portimão.”

Honda is currently plagued by injuries. Joan Mir was once again unable to start in Qatar due to illness, and the second factory rider, Luca Marini, had to pull out after Saturday’s warm-up due to a viral infection that had flared up again. Johann Zarco and Jake Dixon finished 9th and 14th respectively in Sunday’s Grand Prix.