Marco Bezzecchi
Marc Marquez’s former factory Honda teammate and MotoGP legend Dani Pedrosa has shared what ‘concerned’ him about Marc Marquez during the 13-lap Dutch Grand Prix Sprint race.
Marquez’s physical condition has been a hot topic since his return at the Hungarian Grand Prix. His wins in Balaton Park and Brno suggested that he was seemingly back to his very best, but a difficult weekend so far in the Netherlands has brought him back down to earth.
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The reigning world champion took the chequered flag in P7, but was handed P6 after Ducati teammate Francesco Bagnaia was slapped with a one-place demotion for exceeding track limits on the final lap of the race.
Of course, the extra point towards Marquez’s championship challenge could prove to be pivotal at the end of the season, but his performance in the north of the Netherlands was cause for concern, according to MotoGP pundit Dani Pedrosa.
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Dani Pedrosa ‘concerned’ about Marc Marquez’s fitness after Assen Sprint
Speaking on DAZN’s coverage of the Dutch Grand Prix Sprint, Marquez’s former Honda teammate Pedrosa shared what “concerned” about the reigning world champion’s performance in the 13-lap race.
“On the final lap, I thought I saw a bit of that Marc-like instinct again – where he went back on the attack, where he stopped thinking and lost control – but, well, he didn’t have time to overtake Pecco,” the 31-time premier class Grand Prix winner said via Motosan.
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“Then the penalty given to the Italian handed him that position. I’m a bit concerned about tomorrow, because with more laps to go, I don’t know how he’ll be physically after this Sprint race.
“If he just has to ride the bike to the finish line, well, it’s a very different race from one where he can really let loose.”
During the height of Marquez’s injury struggles at the beginning of 2026, it became apparent that the longer format races were a problem for him. The Spaniard would excel in the Sprint races, but fall down the order in the Grand Prix.
With the Spaniard showing a poor level of pace, to his standards, in Saturday’s Sprint in Assen, it doesn’t bode well for him pulling off a resurgence up the pecking order in Sunday’s 26-lap Grand Prix.
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Dani Pedrosa also defended Francesco Bagnaia after last-lap penalty
The MotoGP icon also gave his thoughts on the penalty that Bagnaia received for exceeding track limits on the very last lap of the race.
Pedrosa hinted at it potentially being unfair, due to the Italian rider appearing to go wide in order to avoid running into the back of Jorge Martin’s Aprilia in front.
“This manoeuvre is a bit tricky to comment on because Bagnaia had come out of the chicane very well and, just as he was building up speed alongside Martin, the Spaniard closed the gap,” he said.
“So Pecco had nowhere to put his bike, and the finish line was so close that he couldn’t afford to lose half a second in those four metres he had left.
“It seems to me that Bagnaia didn’t gain anything at all from this manoeuvre by riding onto that green area; rather, what he was trying to do was avoid contact with Martín, who had closed the gap.”
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