Alarm in the Ducati garage: conflicting reports on Marquez's condition

The Jerez GP is approaching, and within Ducati it will be forbidden to make mistakes, already at the fourth round of the 2026 MotoGP championship. Aprilia has secured three wins out of three and could pull away in the standings if there’s no change of course. The Desmosedici can’t look for excuses at the Spanish circuit, but Marc Marquez’s form is a cause for concern.

The 2020 Jerez crash put the multiple champion from Cervera’s body to a severe test. Four operations in about two years on the right humerus seemed to be pushing the rider toward a farewell to MotoGP. Instead, Marc never gave up, changed livery, won the ninth world title of his career (Motegi 2025), and shortly after suffered another injury at Mandalika, forcing him back into the operating room.

The affected area is always the same, although he has consistently assured that the new surgery did not touch the previously injured part. Finally, a seemingly minor crash in Austin, but one that severely tests Marquez’s resilience.

There’s uncertainty in the Borgo Panigale garage, and that’s not a good sign. A few days ago Gigi Dall’Igna assured that the champion will be at 100% at Jerez. Claudio Domenicali, CEO of Ducati Corse, recently admitted that Marc Marquez is still not at peak form after the injury he suffered in Indonesia last season. Meanwhile, Pecco Bagnaia has yet to solve his issues with the Red, and so far the brand’s best rider is Fabio Di Giannantonio, fourth in the overall standings.

Aprilia’s rivals seem to have found another gear in the evolution of the RS-GP, and stopping them won’t be easy. Trying is a duty; at Jerez, a reaction is needed. The return to Europe, on more familiar circuits, could be the turning point. Or perhaps not. For this reason, the Spanish Grand Prix will be a crucial litmus test for the reigning MotoGP champions, atop the World Championship for four consecutive seasons.

Dani Pedrosa knows both the paddock environment and Marc very well, having shared the Honda garage with him when #93 made his MotoGP debut. KTM’s test rider offers an analysis of the Marquez situation from a privileged perspective. “Some things take root in the subconscious and cannot be completely erased,” he told ‘AS’. It’s no longer a matter of healing. It’s a matter of memory. The body heals, but the mind records.

What Pedrosa describes is not a decline. It’s a transformation. Marc Marquez hasn’t become less talented, just more self-aware. And in a sport where everything hinges on instinct, that awareness can become an invisible obstacle. “Right now he’s in a situation where you don’t know if your injury is improving or if it’s at a point where you don’t know whether it will improve further or not. So,” Pedrosa concluded, “you don’t even know where it will take you.”