Alex Marquez: Brother Marc in "no hurry" to make MotoGP return

Gresini rider Alex Marquez says his brother Marc Marquez is in “no hurry” to return to racing after his shoulder injury, having already clinched the 2025 MotoGP title.

The older Marquez was an innocent victim when Aprilia’s Marco Bezzecchi misjudged his braking on the opening lap of the Indonesian Grand Prix and collided with him at Turn 7.

The Spaniard was diagnosed with a fracture on his right shoulder and had to undergo a surgery in Spain this week, ruling him out of the Australia-Malaysia double header.

The Ducati rider’s participation in the remaining two races of the season is also in doubt, with MotoGP’s doctor Angel Charte saying it would be “quite difficult” for him to be fit in time for the Portuguese GP on 7 November.

In the past, the nine-time world champion often tried to return from injuries as quickly as possible, with his attempted comeback at Jerez in 2020 being one of the biggest regrets of his career.

However, Alex Marquez says the situation is very different this time, and the factory Ducati rider is happy to spend time at home to complete his recovery.

“Everything is fine at home. My brother is positive, he's fine, and he's in no hurry to return, because he has got everything done,” said the 29-year-old. “I told him the other day that he's in no hurry, and that when he's ready, he's ready . 

“It's an injury that comes at a time when he should have been all happy, but it gives him some relaxation in a way, because he knows he's got everything done.”

Alex Marquez was the most vocal critic of the gravel traps at Mandalika where his brother crashed, including the unusual ‘step’ in the Turn 7 run-off that he believes worsened the impact.

He said it is the responsibility of the organisers, rather than riders, to ensure that circuits are safe for MotoGP.

“For the riders, you see that [safety of run-off] when you crash,” he said. “It's not something that I’m looking for when I do the track walk. I prefer not to look. 

“But there are guys at Dorna that have work for that, to be quite sure that there will not be any problem in that area.

“So, it's not the job of the riders to walk all the tracks and see what is good and what is not. It's something that Dorna should do. This year, it's true we already saw a few mistakes on that thing. 

“It's something for the future, if they want all the riders healthy, [taking part in] all the races, they need to work, but they are taking note about that."