Marc Marquez is working tirelessly to return to full fitness after injuring his right shoulder last year, but Kevin Schwantz is still seeing injuries to the Spaniard.
of Ducati The rider missed the final four races of 2025 after a collision with Marco Bezecchi at Mandalica. He was determined to recover during the winter, but the first race of the season came in Buriram, he was still suffering from the results.
Fabio Di Giannantonio broke the all-time lap record with his pole position, while Marc Marquez could only manage P6!
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Marquez needed help putting his gloves on. before retiring from the race with a rear rim failure in Thailand. In Brazil, he claimed the Sprint win, but finished on the podium at the Grand Prix behind Aprilias and Fabio Di Giannantonio.
The Mandalka disaster may have been six months ago, but Carlo Pernat saw the ‘fear’ in Marquez’s eyes.. His shoulder injury may be worse than previously feared when he starts the season.
Kevin Schwantz saw Marc Marquez ‘beaten up’ and ‘hurt’ before the US Grand Prix.
The Ducati rider has a good record at COTA, but has not been able to get his GP26 on pole position or for that matter on the front row.
Marquez will line up P6 On the grid, qualifying by teammate Francesco Bagnaia. Traffic did not help during Q2, however Schwantz He thinks he is still struggling with the injury.
Speaking through MotoGP’s In the paddock He detailed how after his qualification. Marquez He was suffering in a t-shirt during a photo shoot.
Is Marc Marquez’s reaction to his FP1 crash at COTA the biggest hint yet that he may retire from MotoGP in 2026?
“I happened to be there on Thursday and they were doing a photo shoot in front. Marquez was there and I thought it was Alpinestars stuff,” said Schwantz.
“And looking at him, with his T-shirt on and off, he didn’t look like he was… here, ‘Help me, I’m hurt.’ He put his hands on his head.
“Maybe that crash hurt him a little bit, but that’s racing. Come race time, we better get ready, I think we’ll be surprised.”
Read more: Everything you need to know about Marc Marquez from net worth to girlfriend
Marc Marquez is struggling with the Ducati GP26.
His injury is only half the problem, as Marquez doesn’t feel the same as he did with his GP26 predecessor.
Marquez called the bike a ‘disaster’ in Goiania.The Spaniard does not feel comfortable on the machine. He won’t be able to ride the same track as the GP25 last year, where he won 25 races, including the Sprints.
Michel Piro Marquez says he is ‘scared’ Bicycle, because the Michelin hard rear tire causes excessive fatigue in the front. GP26 can’t be pushed during races, which is costing him a lot at the beginning of the year.
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