Racing through shoulder injury showed Marc Marquez’s “overwhelming talent”

Ducati MotoGP boss Gigi Dall’Igna says Marc Marquez’s form in 2026, in light of his shoulder revelation, “further highlights his overwhelming talent”.

The reigning world champion suffered a complex right shoulder injury in a collision last October at the Indonesian Grand Prix, which required surgery and ruled him out for the rest of the campaign.

The shoulder injury has continued to plague Marc Marquez into 2026, with a damaged screw from the previous crash touching his radial nerve.

Marquez revealed this after fracturing his foot in a crash at the French Grand Prix last weekend, and has now undergone surgery on both injuries.

Though he hasn’t had a grand prix podium in 2026, Marquez has two sprint wins and set a new lap record to get out of Q1 last Saturday at Le Mans.

In his traditional post-race debrief, Dall’Igna heaped praise on Marquez given his injury struggles.

“In the sprint, he found his rhythm immediately, unlike Marc, who wasn't at 100%... and now we all know the reason,” he said.

“The disclosure of Marc’s upcoming shoulder surgery, which was not until now disclosed and which was previously scheduled for after Barcelona, further highlights his overwhelming talent considering his performance so far, making his incredible new track record at Le Mans even more extraordinary. Simply outstanding.”

Pecco Bagnaia qualified on pole at Le Mans, but crashed out of the grand prix, with Ducati’s best finisher Fabio Di Giannantonio in fourth.

This coincided with Aprilia registering its first 1-2-3 in MotoGP.

While Ducati once again looks to be chasing Aprilia, following its victory in Spain, Dall’Igna offered a positive outlook heading to this weekend’s Catalan Grand Prix.

“When everything seems to go against you, it’s easy to lose sight of the positive aspects,” he added.

“Instead, we must restart from them, trusting the work we are doing and following the convincing signals seen here in France.

“The real challenge begins now: rediscovering our usual enthusiasm even in adverse circumstances, putting everything we have into our recovery. 

“On the one hand, we have a rediscovered Pecco and his smile; on the other, we have the regret of not having Marc with us at Montmelo, knowing we will be at a disadvantage.

“Be it as it may, we are already looking forward to seeing him back on track with us.

“We send our champion the warmest wishes for a speedy and full recovery, with a big hug from the whole team.”