Marco Bezzecchi
Marc Marquez will miss at least the next two MotoGP races while he recovers from a collarbone fracture sustained at the Indonesian Grand Prix.
The seven-time champion took a tumble through the gravel after Aprilia’s Marco Bezzecchi hit him from behind. There was little the Ducati rider could have done to avoid the incident, and he’ll be thankful that he already has the MotoGP title wrapped up.
Marquez appreciates that it was a racing incident, but it hasn’t prevented the Indonesian Grand Prix gravel trap from drawing plenty of criticism. Many believe that the harsh and aggressive nature of the stones was to blame for his injuries.
Luca Marini has told MotoGP bosses to ‘change’ the gravel for 2026, or risk damaging another rider in the future. Brad Binder saved Marquez from an ‘even worse’ injury after complaining about the state of the run-off at the start of the weekend. If it hadn’t been smoothed over, Bezzecchi could have been in trouble, too.
READ MORE: Marc Marquez shares his new ‘goal’ for the 2025 MotoGP season after Mandalika crash
Jorge Lorenzo thinks Marc Marquez’s was unusually ‘violent’ at Mandalika
Marquez cannot repeat the ‘biggest mistake’ of his career by forcing a comeback before the end of the season and risk doing more damage to his body. With the exception of the post-season test, there’s nothing he can really gain with an earlier return.
Ducati have told Michele Pirro he’ll replace Marquez, and the team may decide to treat the final four events as glorified test sessions, in a bid to stretch their advantage over their rivals heading into 2026.
However, that hasn’t stopped three-time champion Jorge Lorenzo from noticing something about Marquez’s ‘violent’ crash in Indonesia. He saw something which didn’t work as he believed it was intended.
“Yes, many falls. Especially the one of Marc surprised me,” he said. “The second one was a highside, which I think he suffered from the right, because normally these bikes, the MotoGP bikes with such advanced and technological electronics, it’s difficult to see highlights like this.
“Like two strokes, right? Instead, that fall was very violent, he lost the rear tyre a lot under acceleration, when the drag control should be working perfectly. It seems as if the track wasn’t right, now, in terms of grip, or that there was little grip in some part of that corner.”
READ MORE: Davide Tardozzi explains why Ducati made ‘difficult decision’ to sign Marc Marquez over Jorge Martin
Why Marc Marquez’s MotoGP absence is a blow to Alex Marquez
Alex Marquez had ‘strong words’ for the gravel and was frustrated after watching his brother take such a hard hit as he came to a stop.
His fight for second place in the standings might have just become a little harder without his brother to back him up.
The Spaniard had little to fight for in the final few races and could have been on hand to assist Alex in achieving an incredible finish. It’s one no one expected before the campaign.
But the younger Marquez brother is going to have to do it alone. He might now be the favourite to win the upcoming races, and is certainly Ducati’s best hope alongside Fermin Aldeguer, considering Francesco Bagnaia’s inconsistency.
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