Marco Bezzecchi
Marc Marquez always ‘struggles’ when new tyres are fitted to his Ducati MotoGP bike, Marco Melandri says.
Marquez comes into this weekend’s French Grand Prix fifth in the championship, 44 points down on leader Marco Bezzecchi. He has scored 32 of his 57 points (56.1%) so far in Sprint races.
The Spaniard’s drop-off relative to his dominant 2025 heights is curious. The leading theory is that he isn’t fully fit after his season-ending shoulder injury last autumn, while others point to a perceived lack of comfort on the Ducati GP26.
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Marc Marquez ‘always crashes with new tyres’ – Marco Melandri
Marquez crashed out on just the second lap of the Spanish Grand Prix last time out, shortly after losing the lead to his brother Alex. Melandri believes he’s experiencing ‘too much grip’ on fresh tyres.
The #93 also went down in the opening laps at Jerez last year and retired from the Austin GP and Misano Sprint after early accidents.
Melandri is concerned about Marquez’s physical limitations and says he’s no longer the same rider as he was last year, but the tyre issue may be easier to address.
He told Corriere Romagna: “The reality is that he struggles with new tyres because he always has this feeling of too much grip behind the corner and difficulty turning the bike. So he has to use the front brake a lot and a lot of lean angle. This is why he always crashes at the start of the race with new tyres.
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“When the tyres go down and the bike slides, he feels more comfortable and therefore manages to perform better and take fewer risks. I think he needs to find the right balance for a moment because I don’t see him as the Marc Marquez of last year.
“I’m talking about how I don’t see him in the saddle with, let’s say, ease or even agility, as loose as last year, so it could be a bit of a physical issue and a bit because Aprilia raised the level.”
Ducati had no explanation for ‘strange’ Marc Marquez crash at Jerez
Marquez was surprisingly calm about the crash given that he blew a potential podium finish and lost critical ground to Bezzecchi. He simply told the media afterwards that he ‘lost the front’.
Worryingly, according to Speedweek, even Ducati thought the crash was ‘strange’ and couldn’t offer any explanation.
Marquez has been supplanted by VR46’s Fabio Di Giannantonio as the lead Ducati rider, while Alex secured the brand’s first victory of the year at Jerez. He may need to look at the satellite teams for guidance.
Despite his issues, Marquez may be the favourite for victory at Le Mans if the forecast stormy weather arrives on Sunday.
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