Another stop
Ducati has officially confirmed that Marc Marquez will not race in Barcelona this weekend for the Catalan GP and it is not excluded that the Italian Grand Prix, scheduled at Mugello at the end of May, could also take place without the presence on track of the reigning world champion. A grid without Marquez, however, is unfortunately not new. Since the Cervera phenomenon had the terrible accident that caused him the fracture of the right arm humerus on July 19, 2020, in Jerez, at the Spanish GP that opened that year’s MotoGP season, affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, #93’s career has never been the same.
Read more GP Barcelona 2026, what will the weather be like? Rain only on Friday afternoon
Let’s be clear, Marquez had already been a victim of several physical problems at a very young age and had missed some 125 and Moto2 races, but since entering MotoGP in 2013 he had never missed a Grand Prix. Since that cursed summer Sunday, the situation has reversed: of the 120 GPs held – including the one on Sunday in Barcelona, which Marquez will not attend – the nine-time world champion has missed as many as 36, between complete withdrawals and weekends in which he participated in some sessions but not the main race. That is exactly 30%. A figure that is destined to rise if his return should be after Mugello.
| Season | GPs in season | GPs contested by Marquez |
| 2020 | 14 | 1 (7.1%) |
| 2021 | 18 | 14 (77.7%) |
| 2022 | 20 | 12 (60%) |
| 2023 | 20 | 15 (75%) |
| 2024 | 20 | 20 (100%) |
| 2025 | 22 | 18 (81.8%) |
| 2026 | 6* | 4* (66.6%) |
| Total | 120 | 84 (70%) |
The numbers of the ordeal
In short, Marquez has been out for almost one weekend in three since Jerez 2020. Despite this impressive number of absences, in six and a half years #93 has collected 17 wins, 31 podiums and also earned a world title, the one won last year after a dominant season closed precisely with yet another injury that forced him to miss the last four Grands Prix. In the last seven seasons, only in 2024, his first year with Ducati as a Gresini rider, has Marquez contested all the rounds scheduled in the championship.
Read more Alonso: “I am not thinking about retirement yet. I would like my son to see me drive”
All these numbers can only raise some doubts about the MotoGP future of the former Cabroncito, despite the agreement with Ducati for the 2027-2028 biennium having been defined. And the existence of a ‘retirement clause’ that Marquez can activate if he feels the need confirms how the Catalan champion is the first to be aware of his own fragility.
Click here to add Formula Passion as a preferred source on Google Discover: you will find our content more easily!
Read more The FIA explains the ADUO: everything you need to know about engine updates
