Marco Bezzecchi
Chicho Lorenzo feels Marc Marquez’s penalty in the Sprint Race at the 2026 Thailand Grand Prix has made him “realise” that he can no longer use his trademark overtake.
Renowned rider coach Lorenzo paid very close attention to the body language that Marquez showed at the Thailand GP, in the wake of the Ducati star losing the win in the Sprint Race to KTM rider Pedro Acosta last Saturday after he was made to drop one position on the last lap.
Marquez was ordered to drop one position after he forced Acosta out wide with a late move on the penultimate lap of the first Sprint Race of the 2026 MotoGP season. The 33-year-old was deemed to have moved too late and forced Acosta to pick up his bike to avoid crashing.
A lot of MotoGP fans disagreed with Marquez’s penalty in the Buriram Sprint, as the contact with Acosta was only marginal – albeit thanks to the KTM rider picking his bike up. Marquez only saw the penalty on his dashboard and gave the place at the final corner on the last lap.
What are your thoughts on Marc Marquez getting a penalty for this move on Pedro Acosta?
Marc Marquez’s ‘body language’ in Thailand suggests he knows he can no longer scare his rivals into submission
Lorenzo, who is also the father of three-time MotoGP champion Jorge Lorenzo, believes the way that Marquez reacted to his penalty in the Sprint Race in Buriram was potentially more alarming than the punishment itself, as his “body language” always shows how he is feeling.
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Lorenzo sensed after watching Marquez in Thailand that the penalty made the Ducati rider realise he can no longer scare his rivals into submission, and that his “hallmark” weapon is now a thing of the past. Now, Marquez may even have to change how he has always raced.
“Marquez has always been a strategist who uses deception or even lies to his advantage,” Lorenzo said on the Fast & Curious podcast. “But his body language is always very explicit.
“I sensed the worry of no longer being able to do something he’s always been very good at, something that’s been a hallmark of his since he was a kid. He’s a master at targeting his opponent and forcing him off the line.
“But in Buriram, this manoeuvre was penalised already in the very first Sprint of the new season. He’s realised [that] he’ll no longer be able to resort to that manoeuvre that has so often allowed him to get ahead of the others.”
Marc Marquez’s exhaustion amid his injury recovery could explain his issues in Thailand
Davide Tardozzi disagrees with Marc Marquez’s penalty in the Sprint at the Thailand GP
Would Pedro Acosta have made the same move for the lead?
How Marquez responds in round two of the 2026 MotoGP season at the first Brazilian Grand Prix since 1992 on March 20-22 should help to show whether Lorenzo is right to suggest the Ducati pilot now believes that his trademark overtaking trick has become a thing of the past.
Marquez may point to the ongoing effects of the shoulder injury he suffered at Mandalika in the 2025 Indonesian Grand Prix last October as another reason why he was not as strong as he can be at his best in the Buriram Sprint, or in the 2026 Thailand GP prior to his puncture.
The 33-year-old underwent surgery on his right collarbone which ruled him out for the final four rounds of the 2025 season. But while he returned to the paddock at the Sepang test in February, Marquez looked exhausted at the Thailand GP as he is still striving to gain fitness.
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