TARDOZZI SAYS DOCTORS MISJUDGED MARC MARQUEZ’S SHOULDER RECOVERY TIMELINE

Ducati team manager Davide Tardozzi has conceded that Marc Marquez’s shoulder recovery has taken longer than the medical team initially expected, after the reigning world champion was forced into a second operation following complications from last year’s injury.

Marquez suffered shoulder ligament damage and a fractured bone in a crash with Marco Bezzecchi at the Indonesian GP last October. After one of the screws became loose and began pressing on his radial nerve, he underwent a second procedure in May. Even with that timeline, Tardozzi said the expectation of a quick return to full fitness proved unrealistic.

Speaking after Marquez won the Czech GP in June, Tardozzi had projected that the 100% version of the rider would arrive by September, reflecting the doctors’ view at the time. “I think we will need two more months,” he said then, adding that “The muscles on the shoulder are still not 100%.” He also recalled the medical message: “The doctors told us that it will be September at least [before he] recovers the situation.”

However, in later comments to MARCA after the Aragon GP, Tardozzi acknowledged that September had arrived without Marquez reaching the level he needed. “Yes, I know September is already here,” he said. “I think he’s improved, but he’s not yet at 100%.” He explained that some tracks would suit Marquez’s current condition more than others, but stressed that the rider is still dealing with the consequences of the Indonesian crash. “Marc is suffering from last year’s accident in Indonesia,” Tardozzi said, “even more so than from the one in 2020, from which he had almost recovered.”

Tardozzi also pushed back against the idea that Marquez’s physical state should be treated as an excuse if results don’t match expectations. “Marc probably isn’t thinking about his physical condition; he’s thinking about doing the best he can given his current state,” he said. “Therefore, we don’t want to talk about his arm anymore because… because Marc is like that; he’s a champion no matter what.”

On track, Marquez’s recent run has still been strong: he won the Aragon GP to reduce Jorge Martin’s championship advantage to 19 points, and it marked four victories in six races. Yet Tardozzi’s comments underline that Marquez’s performances are coming with physical constraints. The sources note that Marquez previously described riding with “one and a half arms” before the May surgery and that he still has not returned to full fitness. During the British GP weekend in August, he told his Ducati crew he had “no control” of his right arm, a remark that raised further questions about his condition.

Even with his wins, the pattern of results suggests variability linked to his limitations. Marquez finished seventh at Assen and Silverstone—two venues where he had expected to be weaker—and while he has not been on the podium in any race he failed to win, the fluctuations have contrasted with the dominance he showed last year, when he won 11 of 18 Grands Prix he started and also took 14 Sprint victories.