At the Sachsenring, Marc Marquez aims to further close the gap in the World Championship standings—during the subsequent summer break, the focus will then be on his fitness
The 2026 MotoGP season is approaching the halfway point. The German Grand Prix at the Sachsenring marks the eleventh of 22 race weekends. This will be followed by a three-week summer break, giving the entire paddock time to recover.
Marc Marquez continues to try to combine rest and training, even though his schedule is not free of commitments, as was evident last weekend.
After the intense and grueling races at Balaton Park, Brno, and Assen, the reigning world champion was a star at World Ducati Week in Misano, where Ducati celebrated its 100th anniversary.
Marquez took a relaxed approach to the Race of Champions—which was won by Nicolo Bulega—and finished in twelfth place. Above all, he wanted to avoid any mishaps or overexertion.
This is especially true for his right shoulder, which still lacks strength. In addition, the Sachsenring—one of Marquez’s best tracks—is now on the calendar. He has already won there twelve times, nine of those in MotoGP.
There, he will try to continue his “comeback campaign.” Because the 33-year-old has to pace himself, he’s taking a tactical approach. Marquez had already made that clear before Assen.
He viewed the race at “the Cathedral” as one of the last races where the main goal was simply to survive, so he could switch to attack mode in the upcoming races.
During the WDW event in Misano, Marquez spoke to Sky Italia about his prospects for the Sachsenring: “I won last year, but I was winning a lot of races back then—seven in a row.”
“That’s why I think it’s a track I like, one that suits my style pretty well, and we’ll see. We’ll try to work well throughout the weekend and, above all, fight for the podium.”
Marquez was 102 points behind in the World Championship standings heading into the Hungarian Grand Prix. After winning at Balaton Park and in Brno, while Marco Bezzecchi barely scored any World Championship points, the picture changed.
Heading into the Sachsenring, Marquez trails Jorge Martin by 40 points; Martin has taken the championship lead from his Aprilia teammate Bezzecchi. At the Sachsenring, Marquez could further close the gap.
Tardozzi confirms that Marquez is physically limited
“The bike is working, the team is working, my head is working,” emphasizes the seven-time MotoGP world champion. He still sees himself as the biggest limiting factor, which is why the summer break comes at a good time for him.
“We need to work on my physical condition to try to take a step forward this summer,” Marquez says, looking ahead to the weeks following the Sachsenring.
He says: “The break will be shorter so we can try to take a step forward and see how far we can go with this right arm.” After all, that will be crucial for his future World Championship ambitions.
Ducati team manager Davide Tardozzi confirms to GPOne.com that Marquez took it easy at the Race of Champions. Nevertheless, the former racer is impressed by Marquez’s determination.
“He’s won two of the last three races, but people don’t really understand how extraordinary that was and what a hero he’s been,” says Tardozzi. “He did what his body shouldn’t have allowed him to do.”
“He has a love-hate relationship with his injury; he has to take care of it and manage it, but then, of course, he gets frustrated because he knows full well that he could be even stronger without this problem.”
“I believe that Marc, as an intelligent young man, sees things very clearly. He’s figured out how to manage his body in the best possible way. People don’t believe it, but Marc really does have a problem with his right arm and shoulder.”
“You just have to watch how he takes right- and left-hand turns—then you’ll see that he doesn’t use his arms the same way. We can see the difference in speed from the data, and I can tell you: If he did on the right what he does on the left… goodbye.”