Neil Hodgson says the gap between Marc Marquez and Marco Bezecchi is so big that the world champion ‘can’t afford a mistake’. Marquez dropped 36 points in the United States GP.
Aprilia Ducati fought back.He knows the old saying that the championship starts when it enters Europe. But Bezecchi has almost a full race day in his pocket with Marquez, with just 37 points from the Sprint and Grand Prix.
Francesco Bagnaia, it should be said, belongs to Marquez. Ducati His team-mate, in just eight rounds of the 2022 season, overturned a 91-point deficit with Fabio Quatararo. That is the great comeback of our time.
Neil Hodgson says the ‘pressure’ is on Marc Marquez at the Spanish Grand Prix.
Marquez He lost the world championship lead to his brother Alex when he led the race at last year’s United States GP. He also lost control of his bike and missed out on a potential victory in Jerez.
The Ducati rider eventually recovered to 12th place, and wouldn’t suffer another DNF until the Misano Sprint, just after the summer break. But Hodgson has hinted that a similar mistake this year could be fatal to his title ambitions given the deficit he has already suffered.
Marquez made his first big mistake in 2026 At the USA Sprint, he took out the VR46 Fabio Di Giannantonio, spoiling Saturday and earning him a penalty for the Grand Prix.
Are Ducati too dependent on Marc Marquez to develop their bikes?
Hodgson didn’t expect to end Aprilia’s five-win streak at Jerez with the RS-GP26 fitted.
“Mark is down 36 points,” he said. TNT Sports. He can’t afford a mistake, we saw him make a lot of mistakes at the beginning of last year, he hasn’t made a mistake yet.
“The pressure is on him in Jerez. But think of Jerez as a setting, long and overhanging rims, you need a bike that turns well. The Aprilia is fast now, good on the brakes…”
‘I’ve never seen him so careful’ – Marc Marquez can’t stay under injury restriction for long
Speaking on Oxley good podcast, racing-turned-journalist Matt Oxley said Marquez had fought back from midfield to fifth after the penalty but was visibly tentative in Austin.
“After a long lap, when he passed, when he got up behind Bagnaia, I’ve never seen him so careful in all my life,” he said. “That’s when Bagnaya fell off the cliff and went noticeably slower, and still didn’t get over it!”
Marquez may be in injury limitation mode, getting his shoulder back to full strength or as close as possible and waiting for Ducati to improve their bike.
That’s a good strategy for the time being, but if Bezeci and Aprilia continue to extend their lead, he’ll have to dial the risk consistently. Marquez hopes Resurrection of George Martin It saw the two riders take points away from each other, preventing the Italian from moving forward.
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