Marco Bezzecchi
Chicho Lorenzo has suggested that Marc Marquez’s injuries will force him to retire from MotoGP sooner rather than later.
Marc Marquez has not won a Grand Prix across the opening two rounds of the 2026 MotoGP season, but the Spaniard has been a strong rider in the Sprint Races.
After finishing second and first in the two Sprint Races in Thailand and Brazil, Marquez failed to finish in the Thailand Grand Prix and went on to finish fourth in the Brazilian Grand Prix.
However, after his start to the year, many have suggested that 2026 may be Marquez’s final year as a MotoGP rider, as retirement continues to loom over the Spaniard after the injuries he has dealt with in recent years.
Marquez has not announced a new deal for the 2027 MotoGP season, when the new regulations will be introduced. It has been suggested that Marquez has not signed a new deal because he wants a one-year deal for next season, something Ducati does not want to agree to.
If you were Marc Marquez, when would you retire?
Chicho Lorenzo suggests injuries will force Marc Marquez to retire
During an interview with Motosan, Chicho Lorenzo discussed the future of Marc Marquez and how injuries may cause the factory Ducati rider to retire sooner rather than later.
He believes that Marquez will have to make a decision that his fans will not accept, and be ‘forced’ into retirement due to the recent shoulder injury that he sustained in the latter part of the 2025 season.
Lorenzo said, “Last year he dominated. What’s changed from last year to this year? Aprilia has taken a huge step forward. And Márquez’s shoulder isn’t right, and he’s a year older. Sooner or later, there’s going to be a moment – he says so himself, something his fans don’t accept. He says that in the end, all athletes are forced to retire, that they don’t last forever.”
“What I do believe is that after that title last year, after proving to himself that he was capable of winning again, after doing it the way he did, he had a dip in form. Perhaps that’s when he was in the worst possible position at that moment, and he still hasn’t recovered. But he’s the one who has to say about the decline.”
Marc Marquez and Austin – the most iconic rider/circuit combination in MotoGP?
Will Marquez return to winning ways at the United States GP?
This weekend MotoGP arrives at the Circuit of the Americas for the United States Grand Prix, an event that Marquez has been so dominant at in the past during his prime.
The Spaniard has won at the Circuit of the Americas on seven occasions between 2013 and 2021, but he has not claimed a Grand Prix victory at the circuit since the 2021 season.
In 2025, Marquez won the Sprint Race in America last year, but whilst leading the Grand Prix he crashed out of the race, which led to Francesco Bagnaia taking his first MotoGP victory at the circuit.
After the Brazilian Grand Prix, Danilo Petrucci was asked if Marquez is in a crisis, a claim that he scoffed at and said, “I would never underestimate Marquez. In my opinion, he’s managing himself, both physically and mentally, and above all, he doesn’t want to make mistakes.”
Receive racing news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
