Marco Bezzecchi
Marc Marquez has been working tirelessly to get back to full fitness after his right shoulder injury last year, but Kevin Schwantz is still seeing the Spaniard hurt.
The Ducati rider missed the final four races of 2025 after he crashed with Marco Bezzecchi at Mandalika. He had committed to his recovery over the winter, but come the first race of the season in Buriram, he was still suffering the aftereffects.
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Marquez needed help putting his gloves on in Thailand before retiring from the race with a rear rim failure. In Brazil, he claimed the Sprint win, but finished off the podium in the Grand Prix behind the Aprilias and Fabio Di Giannantonio.
The Mandalika crash may have happened almost six months ago, but Carlo Pernat sees the ‘fear’ in Marquez’s eyes. Given his start to the season, his shoulder injury might have been far worse than previously feared.
Kevin Schwantz saw Marc Marquez ‘banged up’ and ‘hurt’ before United States Grand Prix
The Ducati rider has a brilliant record at COTA, but he could not get his GP26 on pole position, or the front row for that matter.
Marquez will line up P6 on the grid, getting outqualified by teammate Francesco Bagnaia. Traffic during Q2 did not help him, but Schwantz thinks he is still struggling with his injury.
Speaking via MotoGP’s Inside The Paddock after qualifying, he detailed how Marquez was suffering while putting on a T-shirt during a photoshoot.
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“I happened to be here on Thursday and they were doing a photoshoot out front. Marquez was out there and I think they were Alpinestars stuff,” said Schwantz.
“And watching him, T-shirt on and off, he didn’t seem like he was… here, ‘help me, I’m hurt’. Looked like he was putting his arms over his head.
“Maybe that crash banged him up just a little bit, but he’s a racer. Come race time, better get ready, I think he’ll surprise us.”
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Marc Marquez is struggling with the Ducati GP26
His injuries are only half of the problem, as Marquez is not feeling the same from the GP26 as he did with its predecessor.
Marquez called the bike a ‘disaster’ in Goiania, with the Spaniard not feeling comfortable on the machine. He cannot ride it the same way as the GP25, which he won 25 races on last year, including Sprints.
Michele Pirro says Marquez is ‘afraid’ of the bike, as the Michelin hard rear tyre causes too much wear at the front. He is not able to push the GP26 during races, which is costing him dearly at the start of the year.
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