Marco Bezzecchi
Despite not clocking in times akin to his usual MotoGP form, Marc Marquez’s pace upon his return to action at this weekend’s Italian Grand Prix was encouraging to see.
He was absent from the previous round of racing in Barcelona after suffering an injury two rounds ago at Le Mans. Less than three weeks later, he is back again, with his right foot strapped up in a medical boot.
FP1 saw Marquez take a more ‘sensible’ approach to his weekend. He didn’t immediately fly out of the gates in hopes of setting a new lap record, and instead looked to work his way back into things following his stint on the sidelines.
Fabio Di Giannantonio with the fastest time in practice at Mugello. Who will join the top 10 in Q2 tomorrow?
The reigning world champion finished the first practice session of the day with the 15th fastest time, over one second slower than Fabio Di Giannantonio’s morning benchmark.
The pre-qualifying practice session portrayed a much faster Marquez. He ended the day by booking himself a slot in Q2 for Saturday’s qualifying session with a time that was only one tenth slower than factory Ducati teammate Francesco Bagnaia’s best effort.
Neil Hodgson is optimistic about Marc Marquez’s chances after seeing him in Italian GP paddock
In Neil Hodgson’s pre-Italian Grand Prix column for TNT Sports, the MotoGP pundit highlighted Marquez’s rejuvenated demeanour inside the paddock ahead of the weekend’s racing.
The former premier class rider wrote, “This weekend, Marc Marquez has returned – and he looks like a changed man. Even looking at him in the paddock, it seems that way.
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“The change in his manner can only suggest that what he was saying about the problems with his shoulder is the truth.”
Hodgson detailed his concerns following Marquez’s accident at last year’s Indonesian Grand Prix, which has seemingly served as the catalyst for his recent injury woes.
“I was not totally sure if, after last year’s bad crash in Indonesia, the shoulder was not only a problem but that it was never going to be right, and I started feeling sorry for him,” he added.
“Now, it seems like they’ve rectified the problem and taken the broken screw out, and it sounds like they’ve not had to do much damage to do that, not cut much muscle. It looks like he has a genuine smile on his face and a little bit of swagger.”
Marquez downplayed his chances of defending his MotoGP title in the remaining rounds of the 2026 term, but in the eyes of Hodgson, he is still very much a contender for the grand prize. The Spaniard’s happy demeanour seems to say so anyway.
“It’s as if he knows he’s going to be alright,” the Briton continued. “It’s crazy to think not only could Marc Marquez be back but battling at the front.
“We might even see the Marc Marquez from last year. Of course, it’s early days but the signs are there that we might have a real tussle for the title on our hands.”
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