Marc Marquez was in tears inside the Ducati garage as he shared the full extent of his injury problems with Luigi Dall’Igna at the French Grand Prix.
The 31-year-old has been dealing with persistent issues since crashing in Indonesia, and he’s still not fully fit heading into this season. Some around the paddock feel Marquez is past his prime, and another setback in France only added to those concerns.
He had a highside crash during Saturday’s Sprint race that led to a fracture in his right foot. The injury ruled him out of Sunday’s main race and forced him to miss the Catalan Grand Prix as well, after undergoing surgery on his foot.
It later came out that Marquez already had another procedure lined up for after Le Mans – this one to remove a screw from his right shoulder that had shifted following last year’s accident. The movement of the screw had started causing nerve pain.
Even before this latest setback, Marquez was reportedly dealing with “lightning bolts of pain” but kept it quiet from both Ducati and the media because he wanted to take extra care going into Le Mans.
Marc Marquez opens up to Ducati about injuries he kept quiet
Footage from Ducati’s official YouTube channel showed an emotional Márquez opening up to the team about the physical challenges he’d been dealing with.
He said: “I didn’t say anything,” before his head falls into his hands. “There’s a screw that’s giving me nerve problems. On and off.”
A Ducati engineer then says: “At least you understood the problem.” Marquez continued:
“Yes, but I understood this was happening to me. You can’t ride a motorbike… on and off. I knew this was happening.
“That’s why the operation was already scheduled after the Catalunya GP. I’m riding with one and a half arms. We need to figure out if we can just do one operation, skip the Catalunya race. They have to remove a broken screw…
“That in the crash in Indonesia… they saw it moved. After Jerez I went for a check-up, I felt something was wrong.
Luigi Dall’Igna tells Marc Marquez to take time after French GP crash
Ducati haven’t given a clear timeline for Marquez’s return. Max Biaggi has suggested he should sit out Mugello as well as Catalunya, and Dall’Igna has echoed those calls, urging Marquez not to rush his recovery.
“It seems like the right thing to do,” said the Ducati chief about his withdrawal from the Catalan GP. Marquez replied: “This… they both knew a little about it. I asked them not to say it, to keep it a secret.
“I wanted to go through the weekend without thinking about it or having questions about it. But it’s true that this isn’t working. You can see it in the data.”
Dall’Igna stressed: “The body always comes first,” with Marquez acknowledging: “Yes, I’ve learned that.” Dall’Igna added: “Then we think about everything else. Relax, please.”
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