Marco Bezzecchi
Marc Marquez was forced to retire from the Thailand Grand Prix due to a rear tyre failure, and he admits he is still not comfortable on the bike.
All eyes were on the Spaniard heading into 2026, as he had been working tirelessly to recover from his right shoulder injury sustained in Indonesia last year. Marquez had not ridden a MotoGP bike since the crash before pre-season testing at Sepang.
After the Buriram test, a week before the Thailand Grand Prix opened the 2026 season, Marquez said he had not recovered as he expected. He was still not fully comfortable with his shoulder and not up to full fitness, and that was still not the case this weekend.
Pedro Acosta leads the championship for the first time in his career after his P2 in Thailand. Will he be a genuine contender this season?
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Marquez qualified second behind Marco Bezzecchi in Buriram and finished P2 in the Sprint. Marquez relinquished the win to Pedro Acosta after he was penalised for a late lunge that forced the KTM rider wide.
On Sunday, the Spaniard was left battling Acosta and Jorge Martin for P3 as he fell behind at the start. But on lap 21, Marquez suffered a rear tyre puncture, which almost sent him off the bike as he pulled over to retire.
Marc Marquez is still trying to find his ‘100%’ after the Thailand Grand Prix
Marquez said after the race that the rim exploded as he hit the kerb at turn four. It was a bizarre incident, but it was not his biggest concern in Thailand.
Speaking via GPOne, he admitted that he was still trying to get back to 100% as he was not ‘comfortable’ on the bike: “I was managing my body more than the tyres. I still don’t feel comfortable, so I have to manage myself.
“Going into that corner, the rear of my bike went away. It was a bit strange, but I decided to lift the bike up by climbing onto the kerb and then rejoining the track. I would have lost time, but my goal was to finish the race. It wasn’t a good decision.”
“I have to keep pushing, like I have these last few years, and figure out what my 100% is now, because I don’t know.”
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Davide Tardozzi is confident Marc Marquez will feel better with his right shoulder in a few weeks
Speaking on TNT Sports 2 (01/03, 9:37 am), Ducati chief Davide Tardozzi revealed what Marquez told him in the garage after the incident, and provided an update on the Spaniard’s feelings and condition.
Asked what Marquez told Tardozzi and his crew in the garage, he replied: “That he hit the kerb, and he doesn’t know why, but the rim exploded.”
Has Ducati’s dominance in MotoGP finally come to an end?
“For sure, he recognised that it will be more tough this year to win the championship. But he is trusting a lot, mainly in Gigi and his engineers.
“So he’s p—–, obviously, he missed the podium. He was able, for sure, to arrive at least third, because he recuperated a lot on Fernandez, mainly.
“But in the end, he is trusting us, he is trusting the bike. I think, a few more weeks, he will be even better on the right shoulder.”
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