Marco Bezzecchi
Marc Marquez is currently attempting to recover from a devastating shoulder injury he suffered in time to return for the start of the 2026 MotoGP season.
Ducati will be relying heavily on his presence for another championship charge, without knowing whether Francesco Bagnaia will return to form.
It’s the final year of the Spaniard’s deal with the Borgo Panigale outfit, but given the level of success their partnership has enjoyed, he may want to extend for a few more MotoGP campaigns.
Marquez has proven that he can win on a machine other than a Honda and has achieved just about everything in the premier class. Now, he’s looking to defend his title.
Marquez may be seeking a pay rise at Ducati after leaving Honda and taking a bit less money in a bid to win again.
Liberty Media will want Marquez back at Honda, and a move for the 2027 regulations could be tempting, given their recent improvements.
READ MORE: Marc Marquez thinks Francesco Bagnaia still has a big part to play in Ducati’s ‘future’
Marc Marquez controls the front of his Ducati bike like ‘no one else’ in MotoGP
Honda had ‘no hard feelings’ for Marquez when he decided to leave, and it would be hard to argue that his move has been a success.
Ducati will ‘force’ Marquez into a 2026 decision over which engine he is most comfortable running for the final campaign before a new set of regulations.
Who is the biggest threat to Marc Marquez in 2026?
One thing he does have that ‘no one else’ on the grid has is an incredible braking technique, according to Mat Oxley, who suggests that Marquez ‘doesn’t care’ about losing the front end of his bike.
“This has happened before, it happened with Suzuki in 2017, when they used a heavier crankshaft. So you’ve got more engine inertia, so it’s pushing the bike into the corner, which I think is what has happened with the Ducati this year,” he said on the Oxley Bom Podcast.
“You’re shutting the throttle, and you’ve got too much drive. The thing is pushing, the engine is pushing you into the corner, and so you’re losing the front because you’re trying to stop with the front and you can’t.
“Marc doesn’t care. He can have that front tyre sliding and tucking, and he’s like ‘Oh, here we go.’ Anybody else is like ‘Holy s—, I need to go slower.’ That is Marc, no one else can do that.”
READ MORE: Marc Marquez says Alex Marquez and Francesco Bagnaia agree with him about Ducati’s 2026 bike
Why Ducati missing Marc Marquez at the MotoGP post-season test was a big hit
Not having Marquez as part of their preparations for the 2026 season will have been a blow for Ducati. His feedback is critical.
Now, it’s up to Bagnaia and brother Alex Marquez to make sure that anything added to the GP26 works as intended.
It’s still not ideal that the Spaniard has had less track time than his rivals and will be on the back foot before the season has even started.
At least he didn’t opt to rush back from his injury and risk hurting himself even more. That would have been a disaster both for his career and his team.
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