Marco Bezzecchi
Ahead of his return from injury at this weekend’s Italian Grand Prix, seven-time MotoGP world champion Marc Marquez has opened up on his reality of competing in the premier class with ‘physical limitations’.
The Spaniard returns following a double bout of surgery after crashing out of the Le Mans Sprint race three weeks ago. He was present in the Mugello paddock on Thursday, donning a medical boot on the foot he suffered a fifth metatarsal fracture.
If you remove the injuries, how many titles would Marc Marquez have won? 🏆
The injuries are the latest in a long string of setbacks for Marc Marquez that date back to the start of the 2020 season, when his injury hell began with a broken humerus in his right arm at that year’s Spanish Grand Prix.
Due to the severity of the injury and the lengthy battle to return to full fitness that ensued, Marquez has had to amend his riding style to skirt around the physical limitations that have been forced upon him.
Marc Marquez opens up on the reality of racing with ‘physical limitations’
During his Thursday afternoon media duties ahead of the Italian Grand Prix, Marquez fielded a number of questions relating to his fitness upon his return to the MotoGP paddock.
Ducati confirmed that Marquez would be travelling to Mugello in hopes of competing this weekend, but had to face a medical check from the sport’s trackside medical team before being cleared to race. Confirmation came on Thursday morning.
As such, Marquez detailed how he has had to ‘adapt’ his riding style over the years to match what his body is now capable of.
What are your thoughts on Ducati’s special centenary livery for the Italian Grand Prix?
“Over the last four years, I’ve been able to adapt my riding to my physical limitations,” he told journalists via Motosan. “If you compare how I rode in 2019 with how I ride now in 2025, it’s a completely different rider.
“I mean, I’m riding very carefully, trying to keep the bike from moving, but that’s been a process of adaptation. The thing is, you also need a certain minimum level of fitness to be able to compete in the top category.
“So that’s what I’m working on – feeling good, getting my right arm up to a minimum level of fitness so I can ride at the highest level and compete with the younger riders.”
Marc Marquez explains why he had to undergo another surgery on his right arm
Following his crash during the Le Mans Sprint race three weeks ago, Marquez revealed that he had already planned to undergo surgery on his right arm again after it became apparent that a loose screw had been hindering him all season long.
The Spaniard shed some more light on the situation upon his arrival at Mugello: “One of the problems was that my arm would give way without any pain. So I had no warning. The nerve was affected; I wasn’t aware of it until the Jerez test.
“With the adrenaline, I could see I was going wide, but I didn’t understand why. That’s when I went to the doctors to have it checked out properly, and it really was the screw touching the nerve in the internal rotation position and everything related to closing the armpit.
“It wasn’t painful, but it was disconnecting. Now, obviously, that’s no longer the case, but I have some doubts, obviously, about how it will progress.
“After the fall in Indonesia, there was one operation, now there’s been another, and every time there’s an operation, it puts the body at risk and puts it at a disadvantage.”
Receive racing news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
