If Marco Melandri wins another world championship, he is suspecting that Marc Marquez will retire at the end of the 2026 season. This will deny the fans a much-anticipated matchup with Pedro Acosta at Ducati.
Marquez He was expected to be the first rider to sign a contract extension, but instead Marco Bezecchi and Aprilia moved ahead. Still recovering from a shoulder injury sustained in last year’s Indonesian GP, ​​he doesn’t want to make any firm decisions until he reaches 100% fitness.
While the move has not been officially announced, Ducati is widely expected to sign Acosta As a replacement for Francesco Bagnaia for 2027. That pits Marquez against some of the most exciting talent in motorcycle racing.
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Marc Marquez ‘doesn’t want to lose’ to Pedro Acosta
Melandri said recently. Marquez is not the ‘fastest’ rider in MotoGP.And aboutBox dialog‘ podcast, expressed further concern about his ‘physical leadership’.
He saw what he said. Ducati A rider is ‘instinctively away’ on a motorcycle and is putting a delay in his contract into retirement thoughts. Marquez could overtake Valentino Rossi. If he won his eighth premier-class title this year.
The Spaniard has never lost to a team-mate in his MotoGP career and Melandri suspects he can escape a match. Acosta To maintain that record.
“Marquez is in a lot of trouble,” said the five-time MotoGP winner. “You can tell by the way he rides: he rides.
“It always comes back to that issue, he says, the biggest limitation is physical handling.
“He hasn’t renewed his contract for next year, so in my opinion he’s thinking about what he’s going to do in 2026.
“If he wins the world championship, I think he will stop at the end of the year. He would have won one more than Rossi.
“If he’s not at 100%, he’ll have Acosta by his side. He doesn’t want to lose to his teammate.”
Marquez is still expected to sign a new Ducati deal, though it may be a one-plus-one contract rather than a two-year extension. With only one round of 22 completed, there is little cause for alarm at this stage.
Is Marc Marquez too old to keep winning in MotoGP?
Marquez became the oldest champion of the MotoGP era In the year In 2025 at the age of 32. Rossi holds the record for the last victory at the age of 30.
Marquez remains the favorite for the record extension crown this year, but a new contract will take him into his mid-30s. Melandri said at that point it could start to decline.
“No one has won in MotoGP for over 30 years,” he said. “He was the only, let’s say, over 30 to win MotoGP in the last 20 years.
“On a motorcycle, you age faster than in a car, 35 is already a big age.
Marquez is one of six riders on the over-30 grid, along with VR46’s Franco Morbidelli, KTM’s Brad Binder, Tech3’s Maverick Vinales, LCR’s Johann Zarco and Pramac’s Jack Miller.
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