Marco Bezzecchi
Valentino Rossi has assessed his arch-rival, Marc Marquez, and his start to the 2026 MotoGP season, admitting that he has had ‘bad luck’ with his injuries.
Marquez equalled Rossi’s MotoGP titles in 2025, winning his seventh premier class championship with five rounds to spare at Motegi. The following weekend at Mandalika, he suffered a right shoulder injury that has been plaguing him ever since.
The Ducati rider has not been at his best this season, having yet to score a Grand Prix podium. At Le Mans, he suffered a violent highside in the Sprint and has been ruled out until Mugello, but Marquez might not even feature at the Italian GP.
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The severity of his injuries is more serious than many feared, with the Spaniard having double surgery on his right foot and right arm, removing a screw from the latter that was causing him nerve problems.
Marquez kept his injury a secret from Ducati, telling chief engineers that he was already scheduled for surgery before his crash. Now, he has a huge mountain to climb to catch championship leader Marco Bezzecchi.
Valentino Rossi says Marc Marquez has had ‘bad luck’ with his arm in 2026
Aprilia boss Massimo Rivola wants Marquez to recover quickly so his team can continue battling him on track. While the Ducati rider has struggled, the Noale outfit have made huge strides forward and have a commanding lead in the championship.
However, Rossi insists that Aprilia do not have a better bike than Ducati, and that it is the riders who are currently making the difference. The Doctor admits that his nemesis, Marquez, has been unlucky with his injuries in 2026, as per Sky Italia.
“Last year, until halfway through the season, the Ducatis were truly superior to the others. But then, at a certain point, especially in the second half of the season, the others got really close. Those of us who race with the Ducatis might have liked it more at the beginning, but it’s a very nice thing for the championship.
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“Because seeing all those different bikes battling is much nicer. A MotoGP world championship should be like this. I don’t think the Aprilia is better than the Ducati, in the sense that it’s a slightly different bike
“Sometimes it can even go a little better, but I think that its two riders are really on top, especially Bezzecchi because he made this bike grow a lot last year, he feels it’s his, he’s tailored it to him and this year he arrived very motivated to win.
“Then Martin fell behind him and in any case they are a very fit pair. And the top Ducati riders have had a few problems, a bit of bad luck: Marquez with his arm and Pecco who, however, has shown good potential, but he almost never managed to materialise. But I don’t think that Ducati is inferior.”
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Valentino Rossi says Marco Bezzecchi is ‘ready to win’ MotoGP title
Bezzecchi looked in control of the championship in the early races, winning the first three Grands Prix on the bounce. However, Aprilia teammate Jorge Martin has now entered the picture and is putting real pressure on the Italian.
But Rossi is still backing his former VR46 talent to fight Martin, saying that he is ‘ready to win’ a MotoGP championship.
“In my opinion it will be a great fight between them, now they have more points, but in any case Acosta, Alex Marquez and Diggia are not far away,” he added.
“And I don’t think that Martin’s world championship makes that much difference, I think Bezzecchi is ready to win”.
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