Marc Marquez gets something off his chest and reignites the debate
Marc Marquez’s victory in the Czech Republic Grand Prix has not only reignited the Catalan Ducati rider’s chances of competing for the 2026 World Championship but also reignited the debate over his physical condition following his injury in late 2025 and the injury that, this season, prevented him from racing in Sunday’s race at Le Mans and his home race in Barcelona. The nine-time world champion, following his victory at Brno, took the opportunity to respond to those who continue to doubt his physical endurance.
Marquez, speaking after the podium celebration, explained first and foremost that staying on Bagnaia’s tail until the decisive pass on lap 16 was anything but easy, emphasizing the effort required in the final part of the race. “The last six laps were the toughest of the year; I was practically holding my breath,” he admitted. “I had to push myself to the limit mentally as well as physically. The bike was incredibly fast, but in the final kilometers I had to deal with a feeling of ‘emptiness’ due to fatigue; it wasn’t easy.”
The victory didn’t settle the debate, but it certainly offered a concrete answer to the doubts about the Ducati rider’s physical endurance. In that regard, Marquez reiterated a key point: “The winner is whoever holds out the longest; today’s race was an important step in that direction,” he explained.
Sunday’s victory allowed Marc Marquez to climb back up to fourth place in the overall standings, with 140 points, 40 points behind leader Marco Bezzecchi, who was unable to compete in Sunday’s Grand Prix due to a disqualification imposed by race officials following an altercation with a track marshal after his crash in the Sprint race.
For Ducati, it was a decidedly more positive weekend compared to those at the start of the season: on Saturday, Pecco Bagnaia also secured a victory, and he finished third in Sunday’s race. For the Piedmont native, currently seventh in the overall standings with 127 points, Sunday’s result marks his fourth consecutive podium finish in the full-distance Grand Prix races, having also finished third in Barcelona, at Mugello, and in Hungary.
