Marco Bezzecchi
Marc Marquez thinks it is impossible for him to create his own MotoGP all the while he is still racing, but the door is open to copying Valentino Rossi once he has retired.
Rossi became the latest former rider to launch their own MotoGP outfit in 2022, when VR46 Racing Team made their premier class debut. VR46 hit the grid for the first time as a satellite Ducati crew the season after Rossi had retired, with riders Luca Marini and Marco Bezzecchi.
VR46 had already been competing in the world championship since 2014, however, as they initially started out as a Moto3 squad. VR46 also expanded into Moto2 in 2017, but left the lightweight class after the 2020 season and the intermediate class after the 2022 campaign.
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Marc Marquez will not consider starting his own MotoGP team until he has retired
Marquez is not looking to copy his old arch rival Rossi, though, at least not yet. The Spaniard does not believe he can look to start his own team while he is still competing, as his “whole life” revolves around racing. But he has not ruled out starting his own team when he retires.
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The question of when Marquez could retire from MotoGP has started to surface again, after his 2025 season-ending shoulder injury has affected his start to the 2026 campaign. He had surgery last October on his right collarbone, but he is still not yet operating at 100% fitness.
Marquez said, via quotes by Motorsport-Magazin: “At the moment, no. No, because I’m simply fully focused on riding. As long as you’re a rider, your whole life revolves around riding the motorcycle. That’s my philosophy.
“But in the future? Who knows. In a few years, I’ll have ended my career sooner or later. Then I’ll decide whether I do it. I know that MotoGP and motorcycling are part of my life, and will continue to be.”
Fears are rising that Marc Marquez could retire from MotoGP in 2026
If you were Marc Marquez, when would you retire?
Marquez has long suggested that his results will dictate when he retires from MotoGP, with the thought of no longer being able to fight for the podium believed to be the moment that he will call time after what has so far been a seven-time riders’ title-winning MotoGP career.
But as his shoulder is still not fully healed, and it could take another few months before he is fully fit again, the thought of him retiring this year has started to grow. Marquez is currently out of contract at Ducati at the end of 2026, and he has asked to delay signing a fresh deal.
It was said that Marquez had agreed to sign a new two-year Ducati contract and guide them into the 850cc regulations era. Yet the ongoing effects of the Spaniard’s shoulder injury have since seen him ask Ducati to wait until he his physical condition improves before he decides.
Fans fear Marquez could retire from MotoGP in 2026, as well, after seeing how his injury has affected him. With the Cervera native not yet at his peak fitness levels, Marquez admits that he chose Ducati’s 2024 aero package for 2026 as his bike is then less physically demanding.
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