– As dreamlike as the 2026 MotoGP season started for Marco Bezzecchi and continued into May, it has developed into a nightmare for him since June. The low point is the injury Bezzecchi sustained on Saturday during the highsider in qualifying for the German Grand Prix at the Sachsenring.
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To recall: At the first three race weekends of the season (Thailand, Brazil, USA), Bezzecchi celebrated three Grand Prix victories on the factory Aprilia, leading every single lap of these three Sunday races on his way to this hat-trick!
At the end of May, “Bez” achieved the celebrated triumph at the Italian Grand Prix in Mugello in front of his home crowd. It was the first home victory for both him and Aprilia. But then the season suddenly took a turn for the worse for the pairing Bezzecchi/Aprilia, which many already saw as the top favorite for the 2026 world championship title.
At the Hungarian Grand Prix in early June at Balaton Park, Bezzecchi was innocently involved in the start crash caused by none other than teammate Jorge Martin.
Two weeks later, Bezzecchi was not allowed to participate in the Czech Grand Prix in Brno on Sunday because he had slapped a race official after his crash the day before in the sprint and was suspended. Another week later, Bezzecchi had a wild crash at high speed at the Dutch Grand Prix in Assen and was very lucky to escape injury on that occasion.
On Saturday, during qualifying for the German Grand Prix at the Sachsenring, Bezzecchi crashed again – and this time he was actually injured. The highsider in the Q2 segment of qualifying in turn 7 resulted in “Bez” suffering “a complete and displaced fracture of the left collarbone,” according to the Aprilia statement released early afternoon shortly after the medical examination at the track’s medical center.
Fighting words from Bezzecchi after collarbone fracture
Bezzecchi is scheduled to undergo surgery on Sunday by Dr. Porcellini in Italy, Aprilia announced in a statement early Saturday afternoon. In the evening, Bezzecchi spoke out on Instagram, writing: “It’s a tough phase, but we are tougher. I will return to the track and get back to work. Nothing will make me give up! See you.”
Shortly before the sprint at the Sachsenring took place without Bezzecchi on Saturday afternoon, Aprilia team manager Paolo Bonora commented during the TV broadcast of MotoGP SEG, the successor to Dorna Sports as MotoGP promoter.
“Of course, we did not expect this,” said Bonora, continuing: “We already had to recover from three zero scores from the previous three weekends with him. So this comes at a very inconvenient time, especially for him.”
Indeed, due to the start crash at Balaton Park, his race suspension in Brno, and his crash in Assen, Bezzecchi did not score any points on all three MotoGP Sundays in June. In the sprints at these three race weekends, he managed a meager total of 13 points.
If Bezzecchi wants to become WORLD CHAMPION, THIS must finally stop!
By comparison: At the first seven race weekends of the season (Buriram to Mugello), Bezzecchi scored a total of 173 points and led the 2026 MotoGP riders’ standings for months. Since the Assen Sunday, he is no longer the championship leader; instead, it is Jorge Martin, his former teammate at Aprilia who has signed for the Yamaha factory team for 2027.
Encouraging words from Aprilia and Jorge Martin
Looking ahead to Bezzecchi’s scheduled surgery on his broken collarbone on Sunday in Italy, Aprilia team manager Bonora said in the starting grid for the Sachsenring sprint: “We send him a hug. He knows the entire team stands behind him, and we know his determination. It is now simply important to go into the summer break with a positive attitude to recover as best as possible for the second part of the season.”
“To be honest,” Bonora continued, “we can count ourselves lucky to have a one-month summer break ahead. That will help recharge the batteries and tackle the second part of the season in a good way.” The first race weekend after the summer break in the 2026 MotoGP calendar is the British Grand Prix at Silverstone on August 8/9.
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And: Besides the virtual hug he mentioned, Bonora also sends encouraging words to Bezzecchi. “I am convinced that Marco is still the same Marco Bezzecchi from Mugello,” the Aprilia team manager recalled the triumph at the Italian Grand Prix. “I can only keep telling him: Remember that you are the same Marco who was in Mugello. Remember that you are still the same Marco Bezzecchi who won in such a great way in Mugello.”
Bezzecchi’s teammate Jorge Martin, who increased his championship lead to eleven points with P6 in the Sachsenring sprint on Saturday afternoon, also thinks of him. “I send Marco my best wishes for recovery because it’s not nice that he is going through such a difficult phase. But that’s racing. He knows how to come back after injuries. He is a strong rider, and I believe he will continue to play a role in the fight [for the championship]. Maybe he will even come back stronger,” said Martin.
Marc Marquez recalls Indonesia 2025: “Karma does not exist”
Not only Jorge Martin but also Marc Marquez is among those benefiting from Bezzecchi’s currently difficult phase in the championship standings. The 2025 MotoGP world champion riding for the Ducati factory team has already gained 69 points on Bezzecchi since the Hungary weekend in early June. And more points could still be added.
It is noteworthy that Marquez himself missed several race weekends in the final phase of the 2025 season when he was already world champion. The reason was a renewed injury to his right shoulder. And this renewed injury occurred when the crash triggered by Bezzecchi in the first lap of the Indonesian Grand Prix in Mandalika happened.
However, Marquez refrains from speaking of something like “balancing justice” now that Bezzecchi is injured. “Karma does not exist,” Marquez said after his sprint win at the Sachsenring, recalling his feud with Valentino Rossi: “Since 2015, I have read the word karma again and again. Since then, I have won six world titles. If that is what karma means, then so be it. But again: Karma does not exist.”
“All riders,” Marc Marquez continued, “risk a lot on the track. I only wish Marco the best. Right after the Indonesia accident, I posted to leave Marco alone because such things can simply happen in racing.”
Alex Marquez not surprised by Bezzecchi’s crash
Not only Marc Marquez but also Alex Marquez knows the feeling of missing several races due to injuries. In the case of the Gresini rider, the horror crash at this year’s Catalan Grand Prix in Barcelona was the reason he could not participate in the following three Grands Prix (Italy, Hungary, Czech Republic).
Asked about Bezzecchi’s collarbone fracture, Alex Marquez responded after P2 in the Sachsenring sprint: “I really feel sorry for him. Above all, I wish him a speedy recovery. He is a fast rider who already had a crash in Assen.”
½Trienitz|Marco Bezzecchi|After Marc and Alex Marquez, Bezzecchi is now out injured||606|479pb¿”If you are not physically 100 percent fit, then sometimes your head might be ahead of your body. And then mistakes happen that you don’t expect. After all, it was a similar crash to what has happened to Marc and a few other riders with injuries in the past. I wish Marco a speedy recovery. He now has the entire summer break to come back stronger in Silverstone,” said Alex Marquez.
Marc Marquez expects more injuries
Meanwhile, apart from his “karma” theory, Marc Marquez has further thoughts on Bezzecchi’s highsider at the Sachsenring: “That’s just how it is. That comes with 44 races. The intensity in this racing series is enormous. I don’t want to say it, but more people will miss races because this championship is so intense. Completing a whole season with 44 races without injuries is very difficult. I wish Bezzecchi a speedy recovery.”
And: What Marquez also finds important to emphasize is his criticism of the gravel traps, as he already expressed two weeks ago in Assen. After Bezzecchi’s crash at the Sachsenring, the reigning MotoGP world champion now says: “Once again, a rider was injured in the gravel trap. Again, it was an edge, a step. That’s how I got injured in Indonesia, how Fermin [Aldeguer] got injured in Assen, and how Bezzecchi got injured now.”
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“It’s always the same problem. Obviously, something always escapes you, but these things really should be solved. We are in the year 2026, and I believe all these open points can be improved,” Marc Marquez once again holds the track operators and the motorcycle world federation FIM accountable.
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