Marco Bezzecchi
Marc Marquez is edging closer to a return to a MotoGP bike as he enters the final stages of his recovery.
The 2025 champion suffered damage to his right shoulder at the Indonesian GP, a week after he secured the title at Motegi. Marquez collided with Marco Bezzecchi, with the accident ruling the Ducati rider out for the rest of the season.
When do you think Marc Marquez will retire from MotoGP?
Initially, the injury did not look so severe, but there were concerns, given it was the same arm that he had broken in 2020 and struggled to recover from. As it happens, Marquez bent a screw in his right arm and surgery was required.
Since then, the 32-year-old has been solely focused on his rehabilitation and has been incredibly cautious about doing anything too extreme. Marquez has now begun training on motorcycles again, ahead of pre-season testing.
Marc Marquez set for ‘crucial’ Valencia outing with Ducati to determine his fitness for MotoGP testing
Marquez tested a Ducati street bike at the Aspar circuit in Valencia in December. It was far from the MotoGP machinery he is used to, but the primary focus was to build his strength, whilst providing feedback to the team.
Michele Pirro said Marquez looked good during the outing in Valencia and was making the right progress ahead of official pre-season testing at Sepang in February.
In a report from Motorsport Espana, Marquez will return to the Aspar circuit on Thursday and Friday, where he will again ride the Panigale V2 and V4S.
The Spaniard has been ambiguous about whether he will make it to Malaysia next month. This private test with Ducati will be ‘crucial’ to determine his fitness and whether he will be ready to step back onto his Desmosedici.
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How Marc Marquez is feeling ahead of pre-season testing
Marquez turned down a World Superbike test with Ducati at the end of January. The Borgo Panigale outfit have hired the Portimao circuit for their riders to complete a test, but the only WSBK stars will be in attendance.
Marquez does not deem the outing necessary or useful for his recovery. He is instead taking things slow and sharing the track with his close MotoGP circle, including his brother Alex Marquez.
With pre-season testing only two weeks away, Marquez is still finding durability ‘difficult’ with his shoulder. He finds himself in pain after riding for extended periods of time, which puts even more weight on his test in Valencia.
Marquez wants to win again after spending so long on the sidelines. He cannot afford to have another setback, especially with how much Ducati struggled without him in the final races of 2025.
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