RIVALS STILL SEE MARC MÁRQUEZ AS THE BIGGEST THREAT DESPITE HIS INJURED RIGHT ARM

Marc Marquez’s 2026 injury situation has become a central talking point in MotoGP, not because it has stopped him from winning, but because it has changed how his rivals view the threat he poses even when he is not fully fit. The 33-year-old has been dealing with problems in his right arm since a crash with Marco Bezzecchi in Indonesia last year. Marquez kept the issue “secret” from Ducati, but it was revealed after a highside at Le Mans forced him into surgery.

Since returning to action in Mugello, Marquez has delivered a remarkable run of form, winning four of the last seven races and moving back into title contention. He is currently 19 points behind Jorge Martin, yet fitness remains the limiting factor. According to the reporting, doctors had expected Marquez to be back to 100% by September, but Aragon showed that was not the case. Mat Oxley described Marquez’s “powers were depleted” as he appeared to take it easier in the right-hand corners, even though he still managed to win over Pedro Acosta.

The scale of what he is riding through has been underlined again by the surgeon who operated on his shoulder, and by a new social-media glimpse of his weakened right arm. Samuel Antuna, who treated the injury after the Indonesian Grand Prix collision, said it is “clinically” difficult to understand how Marquez keeps winning races given the severity of his condition. Antuna explained that after the first operation to stabilise a fracture and repair shoulder ligaments, Marquez required another procedure in May to reset a loose screw that was pressing on his radial nerve and weakening his right arm. Antuna said the situation “accurately reflects” Marquez’s own description earlier this year that he was riding with “one and a half arms,” adding that the arm is “very limited in strength, especially the biceps.” He also stressed that putting a “real value” on the arm’s capability is impossible because Marquez can compensate so effectively.

The new reporting also notes that Marquez’s right arm has never fully healed after a 2020 fracture, and that operations last October and May have shaped his current condition, with the May procedure costing him two races. In response to a viral photo of Marquez raising both arms during a workout, Nicolo Bulega—World Superbikes leader and Ducati test rider—said the image shows the physical toll of elite riding. “People don’t understand how difficult it is to ride a motorbike,” he said, adding that riders must train hard and be “100% physically fit,” and that he believes only Marquez can do what he’s doing with “one and a half arms.”

That combination—injury constraints alongside race-winning pace—has led to a “mind-blowing” realisation among those around the championship. Journalist Mela Chercoles, speaking via the NicoabadTV YouTube channel, said that while Martin is doing what he needs to do, the world champion will be Marquez “okay,” and that he has known it for a long time. Chercoles’ key point was that “the best rider on the grid is Marc Márquez,” and that “the second-best rider on the grid is Marc Márquez, even with his injured arm.” He added that both rivals and Marquez himself understand the situation, but that Marquez must manage it—pacing himself, “letting up every now and then” so he can attack when it matters.

Behind the scenes, Ducati leadership is also focused on reducing the risk of further setbacks. Claudio Domenicali wants Marquez to “push less” in practice as he battles Aprilia for the championship, with the aim of avoiding another injury interruption that could derail his 2026 title push.