Marco Bezzecchi
Marc Marquez suffered three crashes during the final pre-season test ahead of the 2026 MotoGP campaign, and has explained the ‘problem’ he faced that took him on three trips to the medical centre in Buriram.
Following a winter break that was focused on recovering from a broken collarbone sustained in the latter stages of last year’s season, Marc Marquez’s final preparations for the upcoming campaign took a hit as he suffered a crash-riddled test in Thailand.
Former MotoGP star Nobuatsu Aoki praised Marquez’s ‘impressive’ attitude during the Sepang test, but that may have ended up as a hindrance to the Spaniard in Buriram as he teetered over the limit a few too many times.
After his final visit to the medical centre yesterday, Marquez highlighted how his previous injury hasn’t recovered as well as he’d expected it to.
The 2026 MotoGP season kicks off in less than a week now, and it seems like the seven-time world champion is in a fairly difficult position ahead of his title defence.
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Marc Marquez admits he still isn’t at full fitness 😲 Where do you think he’ll finish the Thailand Grand Prix?
Marc Marquez says his ‘instinct to go fast’ was the reason for his crashes during Buriram test
During his media duties following the conclusion of the Buriram test, Marquez was asked for the reasons behind the three crashes he suffered over the course of the two-day test in Thailand.
The Ducati rider replied, via GPOne, “Finding the limit isn’t the problem. The three falls this weekend were due to mistakes and a lack of concentration. When you lose concentration, you go beyond the limit.
“The problem is that I have an instinct to go fast. When I’m totally focused, I can control it; otherwise, speed becomes something to manage.”
Marquez’s biggest weakness has been suggested to be himself, according to Nadia Padovani. The Gresini boss highlighted how the Spaniard is always a step ahead of the competition, but his tendency to ride ‘beyond the limit’ often hinders him through crashes and injuries.
The reigning world champion was also asked whether he is expecting himself to be fighting for the win at the season-opener next week, to which he replied, “I can start ready to fight.
“A race weekend is less demanding than a test. Now I have three or four days to recuperate my energy. More than my shoulder, I need to recuperate my energy, because I started this test quite tired.”
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Are Marc Marquez’s crashes at the Buriram test a sign he’s reverted to his old habits?
Marc Marquez ended the Buriram MotoGP test with the third fastest time on the grid
Despite suffering a third crash on day two of the proceedings in Buriram, Marquez was in line to claim the fastest lap of the day until Marco Bezzecchi smashed the lap record on his way to the benchmark.
The morning session saw the 33-year-old clock in 45 laps of the circuit, which allowed Ducati engineers to decipher some data relating to race simulations as well as qualifying runs, too.
Despite the sub-optimal incidents that occurred during his testing programme in Thailand, Marquez can take a lot of confidence from the dominance he showed at last year’s iteration of the Grand Prix to clear his mind.
The Spaniard issued a clear warning to the rest of his rivals as he completed a perfect weekend in his first race weekend appearance as an official Ducati rider, taking pole position, the Sprint race victory and Grand Prix win to kick off his seventh title-winning campaign.
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