Marco Bezzecchi
The question of when Marc Marquez will retire from MotoGP has been floating around in recent years, but his brother could be the deciding factor.
It was widely feared that the Ant of Cervera would be forced to call time on his career after his devastating arm injury in 2020. Marquez underwent numerous surgeries to fix the injury after he had multiple setbacks in his recovery.
Marquez came back too soon following his crash at Jerez in 2020, which only did more damage to his arm. Honda’s regression only furthered his struggles, as he suffered heavy crashes on the RC213V.
When do you think Marc Marquez will retire from MotoGP?
Neil Hodgson thought Marquez would retire in 2023 after he crashed five times at the German GP. Instead, he left Honda and joined Ducati satellite team Gresini, where he would return to winning ways before winning the title in 2025 with the factory team.
However, Marquez’s crash in Indonesia in 2025 has brought back the topic of his retirement, given how he has not fully recovered from the shoulder injury he sustained. Many are wondering when he will call it quits.
Marc Marquez will find it ‘harder’ to retire from MotoGP if Alex Marquez is winning
In terms of retirement, it does not look like the 33-year-old will be walking away from MotoGP anytime soon. Marquez is set to extend his contract with Ducati, with the final details yet to be revealed.
His injuries might come back to haunt him, but journalist Simon Patterson says his brother will be the ‘anchor’ that keeps him in MotoGP. With Alex Marquez winning races in 2025 and looking set to compete in 2026, Marc Marquez will find it ‘harder’ to retire.
“I think the one thing that probably works in his favour, or works in the MotoGP fandom’s favour, if you consider how important Marc Marquez is to the sport, is that his brother Alex is here in racing and probably looking to race on a little bit longer,” he said on The Race MotoGP YouTube channel.
Marc Marquez admits he still isn’t at full fitness 😲 Where do you think he’ll finish the Thailand Grand Prix?
“Because I think that will always be an anchor that keeps Marc here. It’s going to be harder for Marc to retire while Alex is still here, fitter, younger, and winning. But there will come a day. There will come a point.
“And Marc himself has been quite open about this. He’s talked quite a lot recently in various formats, including in an interview with myself about how, essentially, when the day comes that he isn’t winning anymore, that’s the point where it is time to hang up the keys to the MotoGP bike and park it.
“OK, we’re a long way away from that right now as things look, but we’re going into ‘27 with a big contract reshuffle, a big technical regulations reshuffle, a new tyre manufacturer, and the possibility for that moment to come maybe sooner than anyone anticipates.”
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Marc Marquez knows when he will retire from MotoGP
As Patterson alludes to, Marquez’s retirement date might be coming sooner than some may think. After all, he is 33, which is about the age where those conversations start to be had.
Not to mention, his injuries over the years may also play a huge factor in his final decision. Marquez admits he ‘hasn’t recovered’ as expected after pre-season testing, having crashed three times in Buriram.
Peter Bom says Marquez is more ‘vulnerable’ in 2026 after his ‘very silly’ crashes. His rivals are closing the gap, and another big accident and injury could be the final straw.
Marquez knows he will retire when he cannot win anymore in MotoGP. Right now, he remains the benchmark and the one to beat, but that could all change with another crash.
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