Marco Bezzecchi
Maximo Quiles has claimed that Marc Marquez would have won more MotoGP titles if he hadn’t rushed back from his injury.
Marquez, 33, is a seven-time MotoGP world champion, having won the title in 2013, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2025.
The Spaniard is one of the best riders of his generation and is currently racing for Ducati, having joined them from Honda back in 2024. So far in 2026, Marquez has scored 57 points, but has yet to win a race or step foot on the podium.
Although already a seven-time champion, Marquez has been told that he could have had more titles to his name if he hadn’t rushed back from injury.
Back in 2020, Marquez crashed during the Spanish Grand Prix in Jerez, which resulted in surgery to install a plate in his arm. Just a few days later, Marquez was back on the bike as he took part in free practice at the Andalusian Grand Prix.
However, the Spaniard was quick to admit that he was suffering too much pain and eventually sat out the remainder of the 2020 campaign. Since then, he has had further surgeries to fully rectify the problem.
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Maximo Quiles says Marc Marquez cost himself more titles by rushing back from injury
Speaking recently to Spanish news outlet Sport, Quiles was asked about what he learned from seeing Marquez win the 2025 title.
In response, the 18-year-old stated a big lesson is not to rush back from injury, while stating that Marquez ‘knows’ he would have had more titles if he had taken time to recover fully.
Quiles said: “One of the messages is not to rush through the injury. If he hadn’t rushed it so much, he would have won more titles, I’m sure of it, and he knows it too.
“And the other thing is the message of overcoming adversity. It’s incredible to come back from such a bad moment and win like that, in that way, with such ease… because he made it look easy, honestly.
“You can tell he’s from another world, and there are few like him. That makes me a little angry, because it makes it difficult for young guys like us. But it’s a dream to do what he does and to have him there, to have him see me as a role model.”
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Previously, Marquez himself admitted that the decision to return to action just a few days after surgery was a ‘mistake’.
As reported by Motorsport, Marquez said to DAZN: “Trying to return to Jerez was a mistake. I’ve learned that the riders have a virtue and a defect, which is that the riders do not see fear, so they [doctors] have to make us see it.
“After the first operation, the first question of every rider is: when can I get back on the bike? And it is the doctor who has to know how to stop you, he is the one who has to be realistic. I went to Jerez with the peace of mind that the plate held because they told me so.
“I am brave but not unconscious. If they tell me that the plate can break, I would not have gotten on a 300km/h motorcycle.”
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