Marc Marquez stuns Ducati: "I don't understand certain fears

Marc Marquez returns to victory in the MotoGP Sprint in Brazil. He hadn’t stood on the top step of the podium since September 2025, at Misano, before his latest injury at Mandalika. At the end of a surreal Saturday, with the start postponed due to a pothole in the asphalt, hastily repaired with machinery.

The nine-time world champion went back to being the rider who doesn’t miss a beat. Goiania’s sprint race turned into a stellar duel with Fabio Di Giannantonio, who blasted off from the start. But Marquez didn’t let him get away, glued himself to his exhaust, and piled on the pressure by exploiting every braking point. Three laps from the end, the VR46 Italian made a mistake and Marc immediately took advantage to pass him without too much risk. “I didn’t expect the win today, because in practice I saw that Di Giannantonio and the other riders were very strong.”

The reigning MotoGP champion even studied Fabio’s telemetry to try to shave off tenths per lap. “I have his telemetry, he has mine, and I saw that he was riding in an easy, smooth way. I tried to understand what he was doing, never copying, but adapting or getting closer and closer to what he did best... I thought it would be difficult, but in the final part I started to feel better and, tenth by tenth, I gradually reduced the gap.”

In the closing stages of the Sprint, the ghosts of Buriram returned to Marc Marquez’s mind, after being penalized for an overtake deemed too aggressive. “I had the chance (to pass him), you know me. I had two spots I thought I could use, but the problem is that when you go off the line it’s a dirty move and you don’t stop, so I had to block the pass... After what happened in Thailand, I would have thought twice. Fortunately, he made that mistake and in the end we managed to defend well.”

Despite the win, the Ducati ace remains very critical of himself; the feeling with the Desmosedici GP26 is not yet optimal. “I’m not at 100%. I can’t wait to rewatch the race because on the bike I feel like I’m riding in a very strange way. I don’t feel like last year—relaxed, using my body effectively. I’m stiff. I’m not loose, I’m not enjoying it, I have fears that I don’t fully understand, and that’s what we’re working on. We made a change for the Sprint, but it didn’t fully convince me.”

Today we go again with the long race, and it will be a spectacular MotoGP Sunday, whatever happens. Marc Marquez faces a tough physical and mental test. If Saturday’s 15 laps made everyone sweat buckets, tomorrow’s 31 will be a true test of physical endurance for the riders. “If 15 laps felt like a lot to me, imagine 31—it’s more than double! We’ll have to adapt as best we can, and for both tires the right side will be critical, because it’s a short circuit but extremely fast. This causes heavy tire degradation.”