Marco Bezzecchi
Marc Marquez is out for the remainder of the 2025 MotoGP season. The world champion recently underwent surgery after breaking his collarbone and injuring shoulder ligaments.
Ducati initially hoped that Marquez could return for at least the post-season test in Valencia. But they have instead opted to give MotoGP’s biggest superstar the full off-season to recover.
The injury came just after he’d sealed the world title at Motegi. Marquez has only completed one of the last six seasons, having been plagued by a serious arm injury at the start of the decade.
Marquez’s camp are concerned about his shoulder problems, even if they’re not on the same scale as the 2020 damage. Maverick Vinales has been struggling with the joint since July, while Valentino Rossi had similar trouble during his career.
Jorge Lorenzo thinks Marc Marquez may be more conservative after injury
Speaking on the Duralavita YouTube channel before the absence was extended, Jorge Lorenzo explained that MotoGP riders tend to suffer ‘physically’ in the final years of their career.
Jack Miller has called Marquez a ‘racehorse’, marvelling at his condition as the second-oldest rider on the grid. But Lorenzo says the inevitable accumulation of injuries leads to instinctive caution.
Marquez will be wary of hurting his shoulder again in a highside crash, particularly given its importance.
It’s been said that Marquez is taking fewer risks in 2025 than he used to at Honda, perhaps thanks to Ducati’s commanding advantage. Perhaps he’ll be more conservative still next year.
“In the last years of your career, you suffer a bit physically, and this is also dangerous mentally,” Lorenzo said. “You think, if I have a highside crash, ‘I’m more likely to break [this bone] again.’ This does have a little impact on the mental side of the rider.
“It’s the rider’s most important extremity – the arms, the pectoral, the shoulders.”
Marc Marquez will now benefit from the Jorge Martin rule
Ducati’s advantage over their rivals appears to be shrinking. Aprilia are leading the charge, with Marco Bezzecchi winning three of the last four Sprints and Raul Fernandez victorious for the Trackhouse satellite team in Australia.
In this context, Marquez may be asked to push harder next year to keep the Bologna outfit on top. That could be problematic after his injury.
Importantly, Marquez will enjoy an extra day of testing next year thanks to a new MotoGP rule that was brought in during Jorge Martin’s absence earlier this year. Riders who are out for an extended period are now afforded this opportunity.
Marquez will have his first real opportunity to gauge whether there are any lasting effects from his injury, sustained in a lap-one crash with Marco Bezzecchi in Indonesia, before pre-season testing next year.
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