Marc Marquez says he tries to make mistakes on the Friday of MotoGP race week - 'I prefer to crash there'
Published 16/07/2026 at 19:07 GMT+1
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Marc Marquez has insisted he tries to make his mistakes on the Friday of race week now as he closes in on championship leader Jorge Martin. Marquez is now just 18 points behind Martin in the title race.
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The Ducati Lenovo rider suffered a crash last October which required shoulder surgery, and that continued to cause problems until a fractured metatarsal at Le Mans earlier this season gave him the chance to have a broken screw in the joint removed, as it was impinging on his radial nerve.
Marquez trailed by 102 points in the title standings at one stage, but he has bounced back with wins in Czechia, Hungary and Germany.
"In the first part of the season, with the nerve problem, I was crashing without warning,” Marquez explained.
”Now my physical condition is ‘blocking’ me in some areas. I try to do the mistakes on Friday. I try to start on Friday riding by instinct.
"I prefer to crash there and try to understand where is the limit and survive in some circuits like Assen, as I did.”
There are just 24 points covering the top five riders in the MotoGP standings, and the title race promises to be a thrilling one, with every race live on TNT Sports and HBO Max.
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”This year the Aprilias are riding very fast, they are also increasing his [Martin's] level,” Marquez said.
"Also at Ducati, Alex [his brother] came back and is riding fast. [Fabio] Di Giannantonio is riding super fast. Pecco [Francesco Bagnaia] in some circuits, was also super fast.
”So that means that the level is increasing, but we are taking more risks. So it’s there where it will be crucial to try to be consistent.”
Marquez, who will use the summer break to focus on rebuilding his muscle strength, has also revealed more about how tough it was earlier this year.
”You cannot imagine how stressful the first part of the season was for me,” he told Crash.
”First five races because I didn’t understand anything. I was crashing without knowing what’s going on. The nerve didn’t give me any warning.”
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Speaking after his win in Germany, Marquez said: "It’s true that if we want to fight for the championship, I need to improve some points - the right arm. It’s the only point I need to improve.
”So, this summer break, I will take a rest of course, because on the mental side, I need it.
”But I need to work very hard on the right arm, especially on the weak points, because there are some points where I’m just riding the bike - I’m on the bike, but I cannot play with my body."
”So it's there where I want to work. I will try to work hard just to wake up some muscles that are sleeping.
”And from that point, if we can do it, then we can try to fight for the championship in this second part of the season."
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