PERNAT SUGGESTS MARQUEZ COULD QUIT MOTOGP AFTER NEXT SEASON

Marc Marquez may bring his MotoGP career to a close sooner than his contract suggests, according to paddock veteran Carlo Pernat. The Italian believes the Spaniard will race through next season, then could retire as the demands of the championship grow and take a greater toll on riders’ lives.

Pernat, who has followed Marquez’s career closely, made his comments after the Malaysian Grand Prix. He said the victory had dealt an “almost definitive blow” to the title fight, and described the six-time MotoGP champion as “frankly a Martian”. Pernat added: “As long as he is here he will win, then he will leave with his spaceship.”

Marquez’s Ducati deal runs through the end of 2028, but Pernat expects him to depart before it expires. “I think he will do another year, next year, because clearly he has a contract,” he said. “However, with everything that is happening with the new Liberty Media [ownership of MotoGP], frankly I think Marc is one of those who wants to remove the disturbance.”

Pernat suggested Marquez is increasingly speaking up for riders as the series changes. He pointed to the demands of the schedule and race format, including Friday and Saturday activity and what he called “the 44 starts”, arguing that the workload is making the sport less appealing and more hazardous physically and mentally.

“You can see that he is becoming a bit of the leader of the people in all matters,” Pernat said. He believes Marquez wants to reach retirement from racing in good health, particularly after the injuries and physical challenges he has faced since 2020. “He wants to reach motorcycle retirement age, in a year or two, healthy,” Pernat added.

The veteran manager’s prediction is not a confirmed plan from Marquez, but reflects his view that the champion may choose quality of life over extending a career that has already brought him extensive success. “With all the new rules they are introducing, the practice on Friday, Saturday, the 44 starts, Marc is realizing that it is no longer a good life as a rider,” Pernat said. “It is a life of recluses, very dangerous also from a physical and mental point of view.”