Marco Bezzecchi
Marc Marquez says he doesn’t have anything left to ‘prove’ in MotoGP after a crash at the Spanish Grand Prix jeopardised his chances of an eighth title.
Marquez is now 44 points behind Marco Bezzecchi after the lap two incident, and he has never come back from a deficit larger than 37 during his career.
The Ducati rider was running second after losing the lead to his brother and thought he could have held onto a podium spot. Bezzecchi inherited P2 to solidify his grip on the championship after round four.
Marc Marquez is out! A MASSIVE crash for the Ducati rider at the Spanish Grand Prix 😲 What does this mean for his 2026 title hopes?
Marc Marquez says he doesn’t feel ‘additional pressure’
Speaking to outlets including Speedweek, Marquez said he can’t yet ride Ducati’s GP26 naturally. Last year, he was the only rider who consistently excelled on the GP25.
Marquez, who collided with Fabio Di Giannantonio in Austin and won the Jerez Sprint despite falling, acknowledges that he’s making too many mistakes, but doesn’t feel as if he’s under pressure.
There’s a sense that Marquez’s career is complete after he won last year’s championship, completing his comeback from four arm surgeries. Anything he achieves from here could be considered a bonus.
Is all the pressure off Marc Marquez this year?
“Let’s see if I can improve my feeling in Monday’s test,” he said. “It’s crucial how I can ride the bike. Last year I had a good riding position and everything came easily to me, that’s not the case at the moment.
“I’m also crashing too much. Do I feel any additional pressure because of that? No! I don’t have anything to prove to anyone anymore.”
‘We were better than Aprilia’ – Marc Marquez on Ducati’s Spanish Grand Prix performance
Francesco Bagnaia’s mechanical retirement made it a scoreless afternoon for Ducati, but Alex Marquez’s win gives them hope. For the first time this season, it looked as if they were ‘better’ than Aprilia.
Marquez says the onus is on him to ‘ride better’, though he’s also hoping that Ducati can improve his front feeling in Monday’s test.
“Ducati is working hard, and we were closer to Aprilia in this race,” he said. “I would even say we were better because a Ducati rider won. It’s important that they never give up and keep the pressure on until the end.
“Ducati has one of the best bikes on the grid, if not the best. I simply need to ride better. If I can get a bit more feel for the front tyre without losing speed, it’s always about finding a compromise. If the lap time is right, the solutions are good.”
VR46’s Fabio Di Giannantonio remains the highest-ranking Ducati in the championship with 71 points, which puts him third behind the two Aprilia riders.
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