Alex Marquez’s ongoing shoulder problem resurfaces at Malaysian MotoGP

Alex Marquez is once again in trouble with his right shoulder at the Malaysian MotoGP, although his outlook is positive for the weekend.

Marquez’s shoulder problems stem from his crash in Barcelona, where he hit the back of Pedro Acosta’s suddenly-slowing KTM in the grand prix.

The Gresini Racing rider had mentioned the shoulder as a problem in Mandalika, explaining there that it was not such an issue when he first returned to racing in Assen but that the discomfort became greater as the season progressed.

The back-to-back races of MotoGP's Asian tour give riders only a few days of recovery between events, and combining that with the current stage of the season means that stress on the body starts to accumulate.

In Malaysia, which was originally due to be the last of the Asian races for 2027 before Qatar was rescheduled, Marquez is struggling more than expected with his shoulder, although he was able to find solutions to setup problems he had during Friday.

“It’s true that this morning I suffered quite a lot and nothing was what I was expecting, everything was working much different than my expectations,” Alex Marquez told MotoGP.com.

“But I had the experience from last year that also happened to me a similar thing. So, I was patient, trying to talk to the team, analyse the things, and then say ‘Okay, wait until the point that we will put the soft rear tyre that will be the tyre here for everything’. 

“So, also we adjusted a little bit the electronic side, setup side and all that, and everything in the afternoon was working much better. So, just quite happy because in the afternoon everything was working good: not a bad pace, trying a few things and all that. 

“It’s true that I was expecting to be better on physical side and I’m not feeling so good on the right shoulder, but we take it as it is and we need to keep working and keep patient.”

Asked where he is struggling most around the Sepang layout, Marquez replied: “Especially change of direction, so from turn one to turn two; two to three; later on five and six a lot; and the fast ones – 12 to 13. It’s like it is, and also in all the braking points. 

“So, I’m suffering a little bit, but to make short runs it will be not a problem, for the Sprint will not a problem; for the main race on Sunday, that I will be even more tired and painful, it will be hard. But I will try my best.”