Claudio Domenicali pins Marc Marquez’s 2026 struggles on early testing kinks

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Marc Marquez has made a slow start to the 2026 season, and Ducati chief Claudio Domenicali believes his disrupted winter is partly to blame.

Coming off a serious shoulder injury from the previous year – sustained in a collision with Marco Bezzecchi in Indonesia – Marquez had minimal preparation ahead of the new campaign.

Early assessments downplayed the need for surgery, but the damage proved more extensive than first thought. The effects are still lingering, and he’s yet to reach the podium this year.

With injuries piling up over his career, Marquez admits he’s unsure what his true peak even looks like anymore. This title defence has been far tougher than expected, and many point to his interrupted build-up as a key reason for the early struggles.

Photo by Gold & Goose Photography/Getty Images

Claudio Domenicali attributes Marc Marquez’s slow 2026 start to a lack of pre-season preparation

Aprilia have made serious strides this year, with Bezzecchi winning every Grand Prix so far. But Massimo Rivola feels Aprilia haven’t faced the real Marquez yet, as the Ducati rider continues to deal with fitness issues.

Domenicali explained to Corriere Romagna: “But I think he’s got a lot to offer. Well, unfortunately he had a nasty crash at the end of last year, he was out of action for a long time, he missed the whole winter.

“And so that also limited the number of tests he was able to do, and so during winter testing, things didn’t go as they should have, so that also affected the start of the season a bit.

“Perhaps he isn’t even, I think, quite back to 100% yet, but he’s definitely a rider with extraordinary determination and incredible talent, so he can certainly still achieve a lot at Ducati.”