Marquez attempts to clear things up

Marc Márquez has undergone a successful operation on his right eye, which should be the panacea for the vision problems he has been suffering since a fall in practice for last October’s Malaysian Moto2 event.

The 2010 125cc world champion has been gradually recovering his vision over the past three months, but not to the optimum condition needed to compete at a professional level. After consulting with several specialists, it was decided that the best avenue was a small intervention to correct the vision in his right eye.

Márquez was operated on in Barcelona on January 16 and has been discharged from hospital to continue recovery at home.

The first Moto2 class tests for 2012 are scheduled to be held from February 8-10 at the in Valencia, and Márquez’s participation has not yet been ruled out. The decision will be made later this month depending on the state of the rider and after consultation with specialists.

Meanwhile, world Superbike rider John Hopkins has undergone surgery to amputate the top of the middle finger on his right hand.

Following numerous surgeries and complications after his crash at the Brno MotoGP event in 2011, the Crescent Suzuki World Superbike rider is now positive that, after the operation in California, it will not adversely affect his championship challenge this year.

"I went to see my doctor for a progress report and the news was not great. It's never good news when you have to lose a body part, but this was the best scenario all round because otherwise the situation could've dragged on for some time, with not necessarily a better result in the end.

"Apart from the actual pain of the surgery, I must say that it's feeling better already. I now have about 10 days when I cannot do any physio, but then I can start again. This is a bit of a setback, but really not too bad because I have been training and getting fit for some time now, so my base level is very good. I'll be able to train fully again soon and be able to get on a bike in three weeks, so I'm sure I'll be okay for our first tests in Australia.

"I know the bike well and I've raced at Phillip Island before, so at least I will not be starting from scratch. Our GSX-R1000 has a very good base setting and I am confident that we're not going to be struggling at the start. The level of competition is tough for sure, but I think we're going to be competitive right from the start."