Gresini’s Alex Marquez is “feeling good” as he returns from injury in practice for the 2026 Czech Grand Prix, but is not afraid to stop if he is “putting himself or others at risk”.
Marquez He will compete in Brno this weekend after missing the last two races at Mugello and Balaton Park due to a serious collision with KTM star Pedro Acosta in Barcelona. The 30-year-old quickly beat Acosta after his younger Spanish compatriot’s RC16 suddenly stopped.
A violent crash during the Catalan Grand Prix left Marquez in need of surgery to insert a plate to stabilize his right collarbone. Marquez also sustained a C7 vertebra fracture Gresini As MotoGP cycling is “the best training”, the star has already returned.
Alex Marquez returns after two rounds from C7 spinal injury – MotoGP low return date forced?
Alex Marquez says ‘enough’ if his body tells him to stop at the Czech Grand Prix.
Marquez admitted that he did not have “strength” when he came back from injury Going into the weekend in Brno, however, practice on Friday was mostly positive. While a fast lap time wasn’t that easy, Marquez felt it was “much closer” than he expected.
Read more: How to watch the 2026 Czech Grand Prix, including the Brno weather forecast
The 2014 Moto3 and 2019 Moto2 champion finished P15 in the race in a timed practice session with a best time of 1:52.556. Czech GPjust 0.821 seconds off the best time. But Marquez isn’t afraid to let Bryno go early if he feels he’s “dangerous” anyone.
Marquez said. As: “I will continue, in the end, being on a MotoGP bike is the best training, also for your muscles, to put you in the right place.
“It’s true I’m tired today, I’m completely wiped out, but now we’ll work with the physio to get my body back in shape and help it a bit, it’s true I can’t do 100% every round, I have to manage a bit.
“But we’re on the bike and it’s a lot closer than I expected, really. I was expecting to lose a second and a half or two. But in the end I felt good, I couldn’t push the bike too hard, but the time wasn’t bad, and we have to keep doing it – depending on how I feel, lap by lap.”
“If I feel good, I push, but if not, I hold back, and that’s it. I listen to my body and take it session by session. If I see a time when it doesn’t make sense, and most importantly, I’ll say ‘enough.'”
Alex Marquez says he lacks ‘strength’ in his neck but his muscles were ‘thick’ at home
Who will win the Czech Grand Prix, and why?
It was said to be ahead of the Czech GP weekend. Marquez had to miss six weeks due to a C7 spinal cord injury. However, Gresini Racing is back riding the Ducati Desmosedici GP26 after a collision with Acosta during the Catalan GP in Brno just under five weeks ago.
Read more: Ai Ogura’s Brno lap record hits record high after Marc Marquez crashes in Czech GP practice
However, despite Márquez returning to action sooner than recommended, his muscles were “worse” at home and he felt better when riding the GP26 during practice in Brno this Friday. In particular, the Spaniard needs to rebuild strength in his neck, especially at high speeds.
Marquez added: “It’s the places I’ve been waiting for, and it’s the most inactive, I’ve been wearing a neck brace for two weeks, well, my neck, after reaching 350km/h today, I’m losing strength when I brake.
“My whole shoulder is very upset with neck surgery, this is where I have to take it step by step and understand things slowly.
“So, much better than I expected, because at home, my muscles were worse, that’s why I wanted to ride the bike and see how I felt, because the last few days it has improved a bit.
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