Marco Bezzecchi
Ricard Jove thinks it would be a “smart move” by Marc Marquez if he can make Ducati agree to an initial one-year contract extension that offers the right to leave after 2027.
Marquez is currently set to be out of contract at the close of the 2026 MotoGP season, after he joined Ducati in 2025 on a two-year deal. And while the 33-year-old was believed to have been close to agreeing to a new contract earlier in 2026, he has since asked Ducati to “wait”.
Seven-time premier class champion Marquez confirmed in March that he and Ducati “agree on most points” regarding a new contract. But he asked the Borgo Panigale natives for more time, as he is still recovering from the surgery he required last October for a shoulder injury.
Marquez is still recovering from the shoulder injury that he suffered in Indonesia, and it has limited his performances so far in 2026. There are even suggestions that Marquez may now retire at the end of 2026, although him retiring is currently considered a less likely scenario.
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Marc Marquez would be ‘smart’ to only sign a 1+1-year Ducati contract for 2027
The key hold-up is that Marquez only wants to sign an initial one-year contract extension at Ducati for 2027 that includes an option for 2028. The Spaniard is wary about committing to another two years on the grid in case his injury issues continue and Ducati struggle in 2027.
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MotoGP will overhaul the regulations next season with 850cc engines, a ban on ride-height devices and further aero restrictions. So, former professional rider, rider and team manager and MotoGP analyst Jove thinks Marquez would be “smart” to sign just a 1+1-year contract.
Jove told Mundo Deportivo: “I think the 1+1 contract [that] he’s supposedly asking for is both due to his physical condition and to leave the door open to leave Ducati if the bike doesn’t perform as well as he does in 2027.
“His retirement is getting closer and closer, and each year brings him one less year to win another title.
“Marquez is someone who has demonstrated emotional intelligence and self-control. That 1+1 makes a lot of sense if you have doubts about your physical condition and nobody can guarantee that the Ducati will be the best bike in 2027.
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“If you get to next year and things are not going your way because your body is not cooperating and/or neither is the bike, you have the power to decide your future. And, if he ends up getting that 1+1 that allows him to leave freely, it’s a smart move.”
Ducati would prefer that Marquez agrees to sign a two-year contract, as is standard practice in MotoGP, to prevent being out of place in the rider market in the event that he decides to retire in 2027. Thus, Ducati and Marquez’s discussions are continuing longer than expected.
The Borgo Panigale natives do not want to be caught in a situation where the best riders are tied down with their rival teams while they are having to find a replacement for Marquez. It could leave Ducati having to get a rider they do not fully believe in to fill their roster in 2028.
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