Eight weeks ago, Marco Fetz crashed during Superbike qualifying at the International German Motorcycle Championship (IDM) in Oschersleben and fractured his fifth thoracic vertebra. Now the doctors have given him the “go-ahead” to race again.
Marco Fetz’s BMW S 1000 RR is back on the track. His return took place during free practice at the Red Bull Ring. “The doctors treating me have given me the green light; everything has healed well, and I also saw the race doctor. I can still feel a slight pull in my spine, but it doesn’t hurt anymore. It’s just as well that I’m allowed to ride. I like the Red Bull Ring. I wasn’t able to ride here last year or the year before because I was injured,” said Fetz, who isn’t averse to the pouring rain that’s been accompanying the weekend. “I was here testing in 2021 and was lightning-fast—it was raining then, too.”
The Bavarian still has to get used to the new chicane, though, and in the first free practice session, he also ran into problems with the shift linkage. And that’s not all: “When I drove out of the pits again, I couldn’t see a thing under my helmet. I’d put on the wrong nose piece, the visor was completely fogged up, and I drove the last four laps around the Ring completely blind.”