Marquez: ‘It is not the same without Lorenzo’

Rookie Marc Marquez reckons Jorge Lorenzo’s injury absence from this weekend’s legendary Dutch TT is a big blow for the 2013 MotoGP world championship chase.

Less than 24 hours before a heavy FP2 crash in wet conditions left the factory Yamaha rider with a broken left collarbone, Lorenzo had said he was riding better than at any other stage in his career after successive victories in Mugello and Catalunya.

Lorenzo though will miss Saturday’s 26-lap race to undergo an operation in Barcelona to repair a double break in his left collarbone.

Marquez, who will need to win Saturday’s race to overtake Lorenzo in the world championship standings, said: “I am very sorry for Jorge because he was doing a near perfect season and he has some bad luck to get injured in only his second crash. I hope he makes a quick recovery because if he is there then the races are different because always you push more.

At the moment he is one of the strongest and I hope he is back soon because we need him for the championship and the show. If I am honest I prefer Jorge to be there because he is so fast and he shows always where the limit is and you can try and reach it. You are always pushing more to be closer to him.”

World championship leader Dani Pedrosa has the most to gain from Lorenzo’s unfortunate injury absence knowing that if he wins in Assen he will be 32-points clear of his Yamaha adversary.

But nobody is more aware of how a mid-season injury can be a devastating title blow than Pedrosa, who has frequently seen his hopes of capturing an elusive first premier class crown wrecked by injury.

Pedrosa said: “The downside of today was the injury to Jorge. It’s a shame that he crashed and that it turned out so badly for him. As a rider, I know that now is a difficult time for him, so hopefully he can get through these days as best he can, as things like this are very painful.”