MotoGP: World champion Marc Marquez admits 'tricky' time at Grand Prix Thailand - 'I need to keep working'

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Ducati Lenovo's world champion rider Marc Marquez was second quickest in practice at Grand Prix Thailand on Friday. That means he will start in Q2 on Saturday as he continues to struggle with his shoulder injury that was operated on last year. The 33-year-old Spaniard admitted that he was yet to rediscover his best form on the track, and he has moved to an older aero version for an easier ride.

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Video credit: TNT Sports

Marc Marquez said "I need to keep working" after a "tricky" practice session at Grand Prix Thailand on Friday.

The Ducati Lenovo rider was second quickest in the session, but it came off the back of pre-season testing and free practice where he had looked far from his usual self.

TNT Sports pundit Neil Hodgson has already tipped this race weekend as a chance for the chasing pack to get an advantage while the reigning champion is struggling to get his best form, and his colleague Sylvain Guintoli also observed that the 33-year-old Spaniard does not look comfortable on the bike.

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Marquez missed the last five races of the season in 2025 after a collision with Marco Bezzecchi meant he had to undergo shoulder surgery, and it appears that five months on, he is not yet back to 100% physical condition.

Despite coming second on Friday and ensuring a spot in Q2 for Saturday’s qualifying, he was nevertheless four-tenths of a second slower than Aprilia rider Bezzecchi, with the Italian tipped as one of the season’s potential title challengers.

Marquez is using the aero from the 2024-spec Ducati as it is less exacting to ride as he recovers, and speaking to the press after Friday’s practice, he explained that he was still trying to get comfortable.

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Video credit: TNT Sports

"I need to improve myself," he said. "I need to keep working on my riding style. Still, I’m not riding in an automatic way.

"So, let’s see if tomorrow I can do a step. But at the moment, it looks like Aprilia and Marco are riding really fast here.

"For some reason, they are able to make the different [tyre] casing we have here and also Mandalika work."

He continued: "Yeah, was a tricky session, especially in the end, because in one moment, I was out of Q2 because of the fact I started the practice with the medium; we took a bit of a risk there.

"But then, when I saw I was already in P5, I was quiet. And then we were able to do the last-time attack in a good way."

There was some disappointing news for the Ducati team in addition to their lead rider’s struggles.

Francesco Bagnaia, Marquez’s team-mate, limped to a deeply underwhelming 15th place, meaning he will start in Q1 on Saturday and needs to put in a far improved performance on the track if he wants to have a decent shot at points to start the season.

The Italian, a two-time MotoGP world champion, had a dreadful time of things in the 2025 campaign.

The season before, in 2024, he had lost out in dramatic circumstances to Jorge Martin, and he had been expected to push hard to win his crown back.

However, he only fleetingly appeared comfortable on the 2025 bike and finished way down in fifth place in the world standings, and at times looked lost on how to find a way back to his best form.

Stream every race of the 2025 MotoGP season live on TNT Sports and discovery+

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