Despite not matching his usual MotoGP form, Marc Marquez’s pace on his return to action this weekend at the Italian Grand Prix was encouraging to watch.
He was ruled out of the race in Barcelona after suffering an injury at Le Mans two rounds ago. Less than three weeks later, his right foot was back in a medical boot.
FP1 saw Marquez take a more ‘sensible’ approach. to the weekend. He didn’t fly out of the gate straight away hoping to set a new lap record, but instead looked to get back into things following his off-field position.
Fabio D’Giannantonio with the fastest time in practice at Mugello. Who will join the top 10 in Q2 tomorrow?
The world champion finished the first practice session of the day in the 15th fastest time, one second off Fabio Di Giannantonio’s morning time.
The pre-qualification practice session is revealed Very fast Marquez. He ended the day by qualifying himself in Q2 with a time one-tenth slower than the factory for Saturday’s qualifying session. Ducati Excellent effort from teammate Francesco Bagnaia.
Neil Hodgson is optimistic about Marc Marquez’s chances after seeing him in the paddock at the Italian GP.
in Neil Hodgson Pre-Italian Grand Prix column b TNT Sportsthe MotoGP pundit beamed Marquez A renewed feature in the paddock ahead of the weekend’s racing.
The former premier class rider wrote: “Marc Marquez is back this weekend – and he looks like a changed man. Even watching him in the paddock, it looks like that.
What do you think of the Ducati Centenary Special for the Italian Grand Prix?
“The change in him may indicate that what he has been saying about his shoulder problems is true.”
Hodgson outlines his concerns as follows. Marquez’s accident at the Indonesian Grand Prix last yearWhich seems to be the reason for his recent injury problems.
“After the bad crash in Indonesia last year, I wasn’t entirely convinced that his shoulder was not only a problem, but that he was never going to be right, and I felt sorry for him,” he added.
Now, it looks like they fixed the problem and removed the broken screw, and it took a lot of damage to do it, not a lot of muscle. He seemed to have a genuine smile on his face and a slight smile.
Marquez downplayed his chances of defending his MotoGP title With the remaining rounds of 2026, however, in Hodgson’s view, he is still very much in contention for the top prize. That seems to be the Spaniard’s cheerful demeanor anyway.
The Englishman continued: “He seems to know he’s going to be fine. It’s crazy not only to think that Marc Marquez can come back, but to think he’s going to fight at the front.”
We even see Marc Marquez last year. Of course, it is still early, but the signs are that we may have a title race on our hands.
Receive competition news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
