Marc Marquez insists he is “still far” from the level he enjoyed during his title-winning 2025 MotoGP campaign, despite claiming his first win of the year in the Brazilian Grand Prix sprint.
The factory Ducati rider pounced on a late error from polesitter Fabio di Giannantonio in Saturday’s half-distance race at Goiania to secure his first victory in MotoGP for six months.
The Spaniard has been recovering from a shoulder injury he sustained at the Indonesian Grand Prix in October, which followed a week after his title coronation in Japan.
While the Brazil sprint at round two of the 2026 season showed Marquez can contend for victories again, the 33-year-old feels he is still not fully fit or comfortable on the bike.
“I’m looking forward to watching the replay because when I’m on the bike, I feel like I’m riding in a very strange way. I don’t feel like I did last year – relaxed, comfortable, moving my body well,” he explained.
“I’m stiff. I’m not relaxed. I’m not playing around. I’m having scares that I don’t quite understand and that’s what we’re working on.
“We’ve already made a change for the sprint, but I’m not entirely convinced by it. Maybe on Sunday we’ll go back to the way it was, and we’ll see from there. But it’s true that a big help was that Friday was a light day. That means I woke up feeling fresh today.”
Marc Marquez, Ducati Team, Fabio Di Giannantonio, VR46 Racing Team
While Marquez and Ducati were dominating the championship until last year’s Japanese Grand Prix, the competitive picture shifted significantly during his injury layoff. Aprilia has emerged as a genuine threat to MotoGP’s benchmark, with Raul Fernandez and Marco Bezzecchi winning three of the last four grands prix between them.
The Noale-based marque also started the 2026 season on a strong note, with Bezzecchi leading a 1-3-4-5 result at the Thailand opener earlier this month. This means Marquez is not only working his way back physically, but also adjusting to a more competitive field.
“The way that I feel on the bike, yes [I feel better], but still far from the feeling I had last year,” the seven-time MotoGP champion said. “So, let’s see if I can keep working this race, then in Austin, and then we will have three weeks at home to keep going.
“With the bike, we are trying to adjust the balance, because as you see on TV, me and Fabio, we have completely different riding styles. It looks like I’m struggling a bit more this year. So we are trying with Ducati to understand how to take profit of my riding style.”
Marquez added that the effort required to manage the bike is also having a physical impact: “It’s always a consequence. When you are fighting against the bike, you use more energy. Then the fact that I say in Thailand that I was far from my level, but I feel a step here.”
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– The Autosport.com Team
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