– After MotoGP world champion Marc Marquez made his comeback from injury last weekend at the Italian Grand Prix in Mugello, finishing P5 (Sprint) and P7 (Grand Prix), he is now providing an update on his physical condition at the start of the Hungarian weekend at Balaton Park.
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In Mugello, Marquez received medical clearance to ride on Thursday and Friday. However, he was far from 100% recovered from the double operation on his right shoulder and right foot performed on May 10.
As for his foot, Marquez wore a splint for stabilization during the Italian weekend. He continues to wear it this Hungarian weekend. The greater limitation, however, was and still is his right shoulder. It was operated on May 10 to prevent a screw from an earlier operation from pressing further on a nerve.
Shoulder area injured in Indonesia “still very weak”
“Getting the nerve problem under control, that’s the main thing,” says Marquez, explaining: “Nerves are connected to muscles. In Mugello, I noticed that some muscles that weren’t working properly before are now causing me different pains and giving different feedback.”
“The entire front part of the shoulder with the collarbone and biceps is the area I still need to train more. That will still take time,” explains Marquez, recalling the first weekend of October 2025: “That is, of course, exactly the area that was injured in Indonesia. And that’s why I need more time. Some of the muscles in that area are still very weak.”
“I know this won’t be a short phase [of recovery]. It will take a few weeks, especially until I feel comfortable on the bike again. But first, my physical condition has to be right,” says the 2025 MotoGP world champion.
Marquez doesn’t expect much at Balaton Park
According to Marquez, the Hungarian weekend is still too early to think about serious competitiveness. “I believe, or rather I hope, that I will feel a change between the races at Balaton and Brno,” he says, already looking ahead to the Czech Grand Prix. That is scheduled for the weekend of June 20/21 on the 2026 MotoGP calendar.
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At Balaton Park, where the Hungarian Grand Prix is taking place for the second time this weekend after 2025, Marc Marquez is the defending champion. However, the factory Ducati rider does not believe in a repeat of his triumph from August last year. Instead, he sees the Aprilia factory team with Marco Bezzecchi and Jorge Martin clearly in the favorite role.
“If I could compete for the win or the podium here,” says Marquez, “that would mean the others didn’t do something well. Especially Marco, but also [Jorge] Martin and the others are currently riding at a different level. In Mugello, they showed me how much faster they are.”
Martin has Marquez on his radar, but he disagrees
Jorge Martin sees things differently. The Spaniard in Aprilia’s service definitely has Marquez on his radar for this weekend. Martin himself was injured for large parts of the 2025 season and achieved his best season result with P4 at the Hungarian weekend back then.
When asked on Thursday if he expects Marquez to make a statement at the Balaton Park Circuit this year, Martin replies: “I hope so. Last year he made the difference here. He dominated like crazy. I think he will be the one to beat this weekend too.”
Marquez, however, strongly disagrees. He clearly sees Bezzecchi and Martin as the favorites this weekend: “I can only try to be as close to them as possible here, but I think that will be impossible. As I said before: If I am the one to beat here, it’s only because they didn’t do something well. If they are in good form, they will be significantly faster than me.”
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