Marco Bezzecchi
Ducati chief Luigi Dall’Igna thinks Marc Marquez could not have done any better since his shoulder surgery and especially loves how the Spaniard has changed because of it.
Marquez endured a troubled start to the 2026 season, as he could not ride the Ducati GP26 as naturally as he wanted owing to an undetected issue with his right shoulder. Two screws from an earlier injury bent in his crash in Indonesia last term and were pressing on a nerve.
It was only after Marquez struggled through the first few rounds of the 2026 season that the issue was finally detected. So, the 33-year-old underwent surgery in May to remove the two screws and a bone fragment, as well as an operation on the fifth metatarsal of his right foot.
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Luigi Dall’Igna is ‘delighted’ to see Marc Marquez’s ‘smile’ return after his win in Germany
Marquez tried to hide his shoulder surgery even from Ducati, but admitted that he had been racing with “one and a half arms” after bringing the surgery forward after sustaining his foot injury during the Sprint Race at Le Mans. The Cervera native only missed the Grands Prix in France and Barcelona following his operations on both injuries, before returning at Mugello.
READ MORE: King of the Sachsenring Marc Marquez’s German Grand Prix record explored
Ducati general manager Dall’Igna believes the post-surgery period has since gone as well as it could possibly have after Marquez won the Grands Prix in Hungary, Czechia and Germany.
Marquez’s German GP win especially delighted Dall’Igna, after his “perfect” performance at the Sachsenring having even won the Sprint Race saw his smile return to the Ducati garage.
“Last weekend was absolutely perfect, with yet another masterpiece served by a Marc in top form,” he said on LinkedIn. “Pole position, [his] 19th Sprint Race win, the GP race with the fastest lap and, what’s more, leading from start to finish on both Saturday and Sunday.
“An absolute dominance that is also a triumph of incredible statistics, of his 13 total wins on this track – his veritable domain – 10 have been attained in MotoGP, securing his place in history by equalling a legend by the name of Giacomo Agostini.
“He sets the pace with a clean and fast drive, whilst at the same time managing the bike without ever overdoing it, steady and solid as usual.
“The talent of a true champion who never stops refining his mastery, even with a racing style that is, on the face of it, less spectacular, but optimised to do what is needed, when needed, without taking unnecessary risks, and with sublime elegance.
“It is his third win in the last four races and his second Sprint-GP one-two, following the one in Hungary. I’m thinking of the Marc who was 102 points behind the leader after Mugello.
“The post-surgery period couldn’t have gone better. His bike is brilliantly back on the track, and his smile is back in the pits – we’re all absolutely delighted.”
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Marquez is the King of the Sachsenring and he put on a performance at the German GP last week that reminded everyone of why he is so dominant at the track in an industrial park in Saxony. It rarely looked like Marquez was pushing in Germany, as no rival rider could match his speed – especially in the final corner, where he was consistently quicker than everyone.
Doing the double at the Sachsenring also moved Marquez up to third in the standings after 11 of the 22 rounds. He trails Aprilia rider Jorge Martin atop the standings by 18 points and Trackhouse star Ai Ogura in second place by four points, having dominated since his return.
Marquez faced a 102-point deficit to Marco Bezzecchi of Aprilia after the Italian Grand Prix, as the former settled for P7 on his return from injury at Mugello where the latter won. But Ducati have seen Marquez’s fitness improve round by round, whilst Bezzecchi has flopped.
Bezzecchi has blown his commanding position over especially Marquez, having only finished two Sprint Races since he won the Italian GP. Martin took Bezzecchi out in the Hungarian GP, before the Italian crashed in the Sprint and hit a marshal which saw him get banned for the Czech GP, and he missed the German GP to undergo surgery after he crashed in qualifying.
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