Marc Marquez, the blunt analysis at Le Mans: "I'm slower"

The Ducati rider finished outside the top 10 today at Le Mans and still isn’t riding the way he wants: here’s the situation.

It was certainly unexpected that Marc Marquez failed to gain direct access to Q2 in MotoGP qualifying for the French Grand Prix. We’ll never know whether, without the yellow flag caused by Pecco Bagnaia’s crash, he would have managed to improve his time and get back into the top 10. Despite a Friday below expectations, you can never count the nine-time world champion out.

It could rain at Le Mans over the weekend; in wet or mixed conditions he often excels and makes the difference. Clearly, the Ducati team will need to figure out how to help him improve his feeling and speed with the Desmosedici GP26, because we’re not seeing the same dominant rider as in 2025. It’s true that the competition has improved, but something isn’t working perfectly in the red garage.

At the end of the day Marquez tried to analyze his situation and the reason why he struggled to string together fast laps today: "We’re not ready at the moment - reports Motosan - nor are we showing the speed to fight for the championship. For me it wasn’t a surprise: I knew that my position, based on the first free practice session, was between fifth and tenth. I wasn’t able to put together the perfect lap, and that’s what kept me out of Q2."

The possibility of rain over the weekend could allow the Ducati rider to be more competitive, although he doesn’t want to get his hopes up right now: "We’ll see. First of all, it has to rain. It’s true that you often go faster in Q1 than in Q2 when conditions are mixed. If it’s dry, we’ll try to go through, and if it’s wet, we’ll try to do the same, but starting from Q1 forces you to have everything perfectly planned because only two riders advance to Q2."

The nine-time world champion points out that the Ducati Desmosedici GP26 isn’t behaving badly at Le Mans; it’s mainly him who needs to take a step forward: "I’m working to fine-tune every aspect. Technically, the bike was good today and I felt comfortable, but I couldn’t exploit it to the fullest. Compared to last year, it’s not that the others are faster; it’s that I’m slower. I need to keep working in the garage to regain confidence. Today Ducati finished second, third and fourth: the bike works and it’s competitive."

Even if the situation isn’t what he would like, Marquez remains confident he can make progress and return to the very front: "Obviously, when you’re fast, you set the pace. This year I’m not, and maybe that changes the rivals’ mindset, but I’m very calm. I know where we’re going and I know what needs to be done. As I said yesterday: we’ve come out of worse situations. I need calm to focus on myself and keep working."

On Thursday he explained that in this MotoGP season he has been struggling more in fast corners, especially left-handers, which were usually one of his strengths in the past. Many believe this could be due to some physical limitation stemming from his most recent serious injury suffered in 2025, but the Spanish rider continues to emphasize the technical work that needs to be done to get back to last year’s level. He isn’t looking for excuses related to his physical condition, of which only he knows the absolute truth.