Neil Hodgson says Marc Marquez was surrounded by 16 engineers in the Ducati garage after his warm-up at the Spanish Grand Prix on Sunday.
Marquez is broke. At high speed in the 11th lap with two laps, shortly after losing the race lead to his brother Alex. The Ducati rider sprang to his feet and was soon seen making his way back to the garage.
The world champion, despite crashing, won Saturday’s chaotic sprint race but is yet to score a grand prix podium since securing his seventh premier class title in Japan last September.
Marc Marquez is out! Big crash for Ducati rider at Spanish Grand Prix 😲 What does this mean for his 2026 title hopes?
Neil Hodgson said Ducati were ‘trying something’ at the Spanish Grand Prix.
MarquezQualifying on pole position, he was second fastest in his heat, half a tenth slower than his brother.
Normally, around six team members gather driver feedback after such a session, but on Sunday there were almost three times as many engineers around Marquez.
Hodgson speculates that the team was eagerly awaiting the results of the test set. The factory team’s woes continued as Alex Marquez took his first GP26 win of the year at Gresini.
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“When we stood outside the factory Ducati “After the morning warm-up in the team garage, we’re used to seeing a lot of engineers around Marc Marquez, but 16 people came in listening to Marc,” said Hodgson. TNT Sports.
“Normally it’s maybe six. If it’s 10, it’s too much. If 16 people are standing there trying something big, like, what’s the reaction?
“The Aprilia looks like a sweet and easy motorcycle to ride this year. It turns better, and stops. Ducati have lost their edge.”
Neil Hodgson explains why Marc Marquez is ‘lucky’ despite Jerez crash
Marquez felt he could have passed his brother in the race if he had stayed with him in the first place, says Hodgson. Maybe that’s why he pushed harder after losing the lead.
“You can understand what he was thinking, ‘If I can just go with my brother for this opening round, I’ve got a real chance later on’, but it was all too soon.
It might not have been the fastest going into that corner, but a full tank of gas.
The only positive for Marquez is that the first pre-season test of the year is scheduled for Monday. Together with his factory colleague Francesco Bagnaia, he tries out new parts to beautify the front of the Ducati.
“Fortunately for Marc, there’s a test tomorrow. Everyone is testing, and he feels like he needs it. He’s not happy with the way he feels on the front of the bike, and we’re hearing similar comments from Peco Bagnaia.”
Bagnaya’s four retirements in as many races for the Red Bikes resulted in a DNF for technical reasons.
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