Marco Bezzecchi
Marc Marquez will have to achieve a feat not seen for 34 years if he is to win the 2026 MotoGP world championship.
Marquez is expected to make a comeback at the Italian Grand Prix, having missed the main race at Le Mans and the entire Barcelona weekend through injury.
The reigning champion arrives at Mugello ninth in the standings, 85 points behind Aprilia rider Marco Bezzecchi. And yet, Marquez is ‘convinced’ he can win the title, according to one journalist.
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Wayne Rainey was the last MotoGP rider to win a title despite injury
Unsurprisingly, it’s exceptionally rare for a rider to win the championship after missing a race during the season.
In fact, one has to go all the way back to the 1992 season, when Wayne Rainey won the second of his three 500cc titles.
Rainey broke his wrist and multiple ribs in a highside during qualifying for the German Grand Prix, and also injured his knee. Remarkably, the American attempted to race, but he had to retire due to pain.
When he tried to compete at Assen a fortnight later, he experienced too much discomfort in practice and had to withdraw.
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Rainey was second in the standings before the race at the Sachsenring, 45 points behind Mick Doohan. But crucially, Doohan suffered a serious accident in practice for the Dutch TT, with a leg injury ruling him out until the penultimate round of the year in Brazil.
In his absence, Rainey was able to claw back and eventually overturn the deficit. He won the title by four points.
Marquez missed the last four rounds of the 2025 season after injuring his shoulder at the Indonesian GP, but he had already sealed the title by that point. A loose screw from the ensuing surgery has affected him in recent months, leading to a follow-up operation.
The Rainey case will offer little inspiration given that, without Doohan’s injury, he would almost certainly have finished second. But such absences are part of motorcycle racing.
Marquez won’t want absences to play any further part in the title race, and no doubt believes he can mount a historic comeback on merit.
For Bezzecchi and Jorge Martin, the two title favourites at this stage, the importance of staying upright can’t be underestimated. They can perhaps afford occasional DNFs – both riders have had three each already – but a no-show is another matter.
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