Marco Bezzecchi
Marc Marquez has changed since he suffered a season-ending injury in 2025, Carlo Pernat says. Marquez returned to action at the Thailand GP last month after sustaining a shoulder fracture and ligament damage.
It was the world champion’s first competitive action since the Indonesian GP last October. While he admitted that he wasn’t fully fit, he still managed to finish second in the Sprint and was competing for a podium in the Grand Prix before a tyre failure.
Marquez still hasn’t renewed his expiring Ducati contract even though he was expected to do so during the off-season. He says he doesn’t want to make a final decision until his recovery process is complete.
If you were Marc Marquez, when would you retire?
Marc Marquez’s injury ‘made him suffer much more than he expected’
Speaking to MOW, veteran MotoGP manager Pernat said Marquez will still race for ‘another year or two’. He has apparently requested a one-plus-one contract from Ducati, rather than committing until the end of 2028.
Pernat senses that Marquez is afraid of injuring himself again after his Mandalika crash. Doctors initially thought that surgery wouldn’t be necessary, but later decided to operate.
Even if Marquez uncharacteristically holds back this year, Pernat says he will still be fast enough to beat most riders on the grid.
- READ MORE: Marc Marquez ruling out switching to four wheels when he retires from MotoGP like Valentino Rossi
“I’ll be the first to tell you that for the very first time I saw something very similar to fear in his eyes,” he said. “Let me be clear, not fear of racing or speed, but fear of what might happen.
“His latest injury made him suffer much more than he expected, and he was willing to suffer after everything he’d already endured, and I fear that the kind of rational thinking that underlies his decision to stop has officially kicked in.
“He’ll renew his contract with Ducati, he’ll race for another year or two, but I think something in his head has clicked. Whether this will translate into him riding a little slower, I don’t know. Certainly, a Marc Marquez who rides a little slower is still much faster than many others.”
Carlo Pernat suspects Marc Marquez is worried about Pedro Acosta
Ducati are expected to sign Pedro Acosta as a Francesco Bagnaia replacement. The match-up with Marquez is already looking like the most exciting storyline of 2027.
Marco Melandri recently claimed Marquez could retire to avoid Acosta, who is widely regarded as the highest-potential talent in Grand Prix racing.
Bagnaia’s stock has been damaged, perhaps irreparably, after Marquez joined Ducati and beat him comprehensively.
And Pernat suspects that Marquez is worried about Acosta’s arrival having the same effect.
He said: “Is it true that Marc Marquez isn’t now wondering, deep down, if the same thing with Pedro Acosta that happened to Pecco with him might happen to him? Humanly speaking, it’s only natural that he should ask himself that question.”
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