Oliveira cleared to race in Americas GP after Marquez Portugal MotoGP crash
RNF Aprilia’s Miguel Oliveira has been cleared to race in this weekend’s MotoGP Americas GP three weeks on from his Portugal crash with Marc Marquez.
The Portuguese rider was wiped out by Marquez on the third lap of the opening grand prix of 2023 last month and suffered tendon damage on his right side.
Oliveira was forced to miss the Argentina GP to recover from his injuries and flew to Austin this week to undergo a medical check at the Circuit of the Americas on Thursday morning.
The Portuguese rider passed those checks and has been cleared to take part in Friday's practice sessions, where he will continue to evaluate his fitness levels.
Oliveira was not replaced at the Argentina GP, while his RNF team lobbied the FIM to issue harsher penalties in the wake of the Marquez incident.
Marquez was handed a double long lap penalty to be served at the Argentina GP but which has now been deferred to when he returns after the FIM altered the wording of its application two days after the Portuguese GP.
Honda has appealed this and the matter has been elevated to the FIM's Court of Appeals, while Marquez remains sidelined with a hand fracture and will miss this weekend's Americas GP.
Marc Marquez, Repsol Honda Team, Miguel Oliveira, RNF MotoGP Racing, Jorge Martin, Pramac Racing crash
Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
Marquez will be replaced by Honda test rider Stefan Bradl this weekend at COTA, while Joan Mir will return to action after missing the Argentina GP due to an ankle injury he suffered in a crash on the first lap of the Rio Hondo sprint race.
Tech3 GASGAS rider Pol Espargaro remains an absentee for the foreseeable future after suffering jaw and back fractures in a horrible accident on the Friday of the Portuguese GP.
After Tech3 elected to not replace him in Argentina out of respect, the French outfit has drafted in KTM test rider Jonas Folger to fill in for Espargaro until the Spaniard can return.
Folger last made a MotoGP start in the 2017 Aragon Grand Prix during his rookie year, before being forced to withdraw from the remainder of the campaign and the entirety of 2018 after he developed Gilbert's Syndrome.
A five-race Moto2 stint in 2019 and a full World Superbike campaign in 2021 followed for Folger, who also served a brief stint in 2019 as Yamaha test rider before joining KTM's roster this season.
At Ducati, test rider Michele Pirro will take Enea Bastianini's place at the factory squad while the latter continues to recover from the broken shoulder he suffered in a sprint race crash in Portugal.
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