Marco Bezzecchi
Marco Melandri believes Marc Marquez is “more fired up than ever” to win the 2026 MotoGP title, as the Ducati ace knows that his rivals are all “afraid” now that he is fit.
It is wrong to ever rule Marquez out of the title fight all the while he is still mathematically a contender for the crown. But doubts had started to surface after the Spaniard’s difficult start to the season because of a nerve problem in his shoulder stopping him from riding naturally.
Two screws in Marquez’s right shoulder had bent as a consequence of a crash in last year’s Indonesian Grand Prix and were pressing against the radial nerve. However, it only emerged when Marquez returned to action in 2026, and it took a further few months to be identified.
Eventually, Marquez admitted he was riding with “one and a half arms” as he headed for an operation to remove the bent screws and a bone fragment in May. He also required surgery on the fifth metatarsal in his right foot in May after a huge highside in the Sprint at Le Mans.
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Marco Melandri thinks Marc Marquez has ‘realised’ he is ‘still the strongest’ rider
Marquez returned to action at Mugello in May, but he could not avoid slipping to 102 points behind Marco Bezzecchi atop the standings after the Aprilia rider won the Italian Grand Prix. Yet Marquez has since outscored Bezzecchi by 62 points, and he goes to Assen just 40 shy.
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Defending champion Marquez has not wasted his chance to punish Bezzecchi’s misfortune – through his own doing, and not – by doing the double at Balaton Park, and then winning the Czech Grand Prix. And Melandri believes Marquez’s form so soon after returning from injury proves the Ducati rider knows he is the “strongest” rider in 2026 and that his rivals fear him.
“Marc is the sort of rider who causes trouble just by being there,” Melandri told MOW. “He’s back now. Before his operation, I said, ‘Either Marquez comes back as the rider he was in 2025 or, in my view, he’s finished’. He’s back.
“And he’s back more fired up than ever, because he’s realised he’s still the strongest. There are plenty of races left, and he’s a master at reading them all, so he knows everyone’s afraid of him.
“He’s trailing in the championship, [so] he’s got nothing to lose, and it’ll be a tough fight. It’ll be hard to beat him this year, but also next year with the new bikes.”
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Bezzecchi has seen his title hopes take a huge blow in recent weeks, after he was taken out at Turn 1 in the Hungarian GP by teammate Jorge Martin and was then banned for the Czech Grand Prix. The FIM banned Bezzecchi for hitting a marshal after his crash in the Brno Sprint.
Even though Marquez felt “empty” after the Czech GP, he pushed his body to its limits to get the win knowing he could take advantage of Bezzecchi’s race ban. Now, Melandri suspects it will be tough to deny Marquez an eighth MotoGP title in 2026, and possibly his ninth in 2027.
Ducati have signed Marquez to a new contract through 2028, keeping him in Borgo Panigale at the start of MotoGP’s 850cc regulations era next season. And Melandri believes the only real change next year will be Pirelli replacing Michelin as MotoGP’s exclusive tyre provider.
Melandri added: “In my view, the only real change will be the tyres. The lower fairings [and] the aerodynamics, these are all virtually minimal changes. But reading the tyres will be difficult, partly because there aren’t many test sessions.”
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