Marco Bezzecchi
Marco Rigamonti is unsure whether Marc Marquez will ever be the same after his long list of surgeries.
Marquez, 33, will forever be remembered as one of the greatest riders in MotoGP history, having won seven world titles in the premier class.
The Spaniard won the MotoGP world championship in 2013, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2025.
In 2026, Marquez has endured a tough start after going under the knife again to fix his troublesome shoulder, as well as a foot injury following a crash in Le Mans.
However, the Ducati star returned in spectacular style as Marquez won the Hungarian Grand Prix earlier in the month.
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Marco Rigamonti unsure if Marc Marquez will ever be the same
During his career, Marquez has had to undergo multiple surgeries to fix his shoulder, thumb and foot. This has left Rigamonti wondering whether his rider will ever return to his best.
Speaking recently to Motorsport, Rigamonti is unsure whether Marquez will ever be the same again.
He explained: “It’s difficult to know because also he says that after every injury, you don’t know the new 100% and how it is compared to the last 100%.
“So we don’t know if after three to four months of complete training, complete recovery, he will be in the same condition as last year or not. This is on the physical side.
“Then we know that our competitors improve. So we don’t know if, with the same physical condition of last year, he is able to win 14 races in a row like last year because our competitors improve.”
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Rigamonti also stated that Marquez ‘noticed’ earlier in 2026 that he would not be able to consistently challenge at 100%.
He added: “At the beginning of the year, he noticed that he was not able to be constant in terms of force.
“He was thinking that it was only related to the lack of training during the winter. But then after Qatar, because Qatar was cancelled, he said, ‘OK, I have three weeks.’
“And when he came back to Jerez, he said, ‘OK, I’m now quite close to 100% like last year.’ In Jerez, instead, he realised that there was something wrong.
“Because he was prepared, but at the end, he started FP1 in good shape. And every session, he has a lack of force and a lack of strength. So after, he decided to make a visit to the doctor, and they understood the problem on the arm.”
After winning in Hungary, Marquez is now 72 points adrift of championship leader Marco Bezzecchi.
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