ALEX MARQUEZ FRUSTRATED BY MISSED OPPORTUNITY ON FACTORY DUCATI

Alex Marquez says he is “really frustrated” that he has not made the most of his factory Ducati in 2026, a season disrupted by injury and inconsistent results.

Ducati gave the Spaniard a factory-spec bike after he finished second in the 2025 championship, his best result in MotoGP, behind his brother Marc. His victory at Jerez initially suggested he could build on that success. But a serious crash in Barcelona changed the course of his campaign: after Pedro Acosta’s KTM suffered an engine cut, Marquez hit the back of it and fractured a vertebra in his neck. The injury kept him out for three races. He returned at Assen, with Marc impressed by his work ethic during recovery.

Marquez has since recorded two Grand Prix podiums, including the Jerez win, and three Sprint podiums. One of those Sprint results was a victory in Barcelona, the day before his crash. Yet progress has been difficult since his return, and he has retired from three of the past eight races. After finishing seventh in Indonesia, he told DAZN he was angry at how the season had unfolded.

“I haven’t been able to make the most of this year with the factory Ducati and that’s really frustrated me,” he said. He wondered whether he would have been in contention without the injury, while acknowledging there was no way to know for certain: “I don’t know if I’d be in the thick of the fight if I hadn’t been injured, or if I’d be 40 points behind, but I reckon I’d be in the mix.”

He also stressed that injuries are an unavoidable part of racing, pointing to Dani Pedrosa’s career as an example: “How many championships has he lost due to injuries? Loads.”

The frustration is sharpened by Marquez’s position within Ducati. “Out of the four Ducati riders, you were the one with the factory bike and all the support, but you haven’t been able to make the most of it,” he said, describing that as something that had “really annoyed” him. At Silverstone, Marc Marquez and Pecco Bagnaia had considered Alex the fastest Ducati rider.

Marquez will not have another season on the factory Ducati. He is set to join KTM in 2027, beginning a new chapter as a full factory rider.