Marquez set to return on a motorcycle after long injury layoff

MotoGP champion Marc Marquez is set to ride a bike for the first time since the injury he sustained at Mandalika in October.

The Spaniard has been sidelined since he broke his right arm following a collision triggered by Aprilia’s Marco Bezzecchi at the start of the Indonesian Grand Prix. While Marquez initially attempted to avoid another operation, he ultimately required surgery to address a fracture of the coracoid and ligament damage at the base of his right shoulder.

The injury forced him to miss the final four rounds of the season, as well as a chance to ride an early prototype of Ducati’s 2026 MotoGP bike at the Valencia test.

However, speaking at Ducati’s Campioni in Festa in Bologna on Friday, the 32-year-old revealed that he will ride a road-going motorbike in the days leading up to Christmas.

“I'm feeling much better and will be back on the bike next week,” he said. “I had a check-up with the doctors and it's now been three months since the accident. So on Sunday or next week, I'll be back in the saddle to see what it's like to ride a motorcycle again.”

He added: "No holidays, no. That's how it is. It's easy for me to accept. For Gemma, my girlfriend, it's a little harder! But in the end, she understood too. 

“I had to work hard, do rehab, and celebrate the title. It had to be done. Today [Friday] is the last day we celebrate the 2025 title, because tomorrow [Sunday] we'll already be working on 2026."

Marc Marquez, Ducati Team

Photo by: Vertical

Marquez also took the opportunity to thank Ducati, the manufacturer that enabled him to return to winning ways after several difficult seasons at Honda, hampered by injuries and an uncompetitive RC213V.

“I had to give up a lot of things [to get back to this level] and work really hard,” he said. “But in the end, I ended up in the right team, on the right bike, after a great year with the Gresini team and Nadia [Padovani]. That's where I found myself again. I had the right bike, and it helped me make the leap to the official team.

“Last year, I understood what it meant to be part of the Gresini team. This year, I understood what it means to be a Ducati rider. I got to know the team and got on really well with everyone. And that's what makes the difference between a happy rider and a fast rider.”