After his undeniable double victory at the Aragon GP, the seven-time MotoGP champion once again returned home physically exhausted, but even more so mentally. Marc Márquez had once again put on a first-class show on the track, but the focus remained fixed on his battered right arm. It is the same one that has jeopardized his professional career from 2020 onwards, and it may also determine how long he can endure at the elite level of motorcycling.
The exasperation of the seven-time MotoGP champion over the media insistence around the limb prompted a summit to try to close the matter once and for all, with the intention of focusing on the competition and stopping answering the questions generated by his complex physical situation. Together with the leaders of his representation agency and prominent members of Ducati, the factory that brought back his smile and glory in 2024 after leaving Honda, they drew up an action plan to clarify once and for all how the arm in question really is.
First a photo, then an interview, and finally his latest comments on the subject, this Thursday, during the preview of the San Marino GP, at a Misano circuit where he has stood on the podium nine times out of 13 possible, with six victories.
View this post on Instagram
In a compilation of seemingly random snapshots uploaded to Instagram, as if by chance and without any attached message, Márquez suddenly appeared in the third slide shirtless and hanging from one of the machines in his personal gym. In that photograph, which quickly went viral within the motorcycling universe, it can be seen how Márquez’s right arm is noticeably more emaciated than the left. It almost looks as if a shark had bitten his shoulder. These are the visual consequences of the nine surgeries that arm has undergone since 2019, seven of them in that upper area of the same.
“As I already said in Aragon, I was a bit tired of being asked the same question over and over again. From my experience, I have learned that when there is a lot of noise around you, the best thing is to be honest, transparent. It is the best way to tackle the questions. That is why I wanted to show my real situation and then have my doctor explain it. From here on, I have nothing more to say. With what I have, I want to stay focused on the fight for the title,” explained the reigning world champion this Thursday.
“I always ask my trusted team for advice, and I told them I wanted to find a solution. We found the way, I found it, because deep down this was a very personal decision. So many questions about my arm were draining my energy on the track. This way I feel more relaxed,” admitted the 33-year-old Catalan rider.
Read more Imserso trips 2026-2027 will start selling on Monday, September 14
Dr. Samuel Antuña, a specialist in orthopedic surgery and traumatology at the Ruber International Hospital in Madrid, deployed the second phase of the plan a few days earlier, making an exception by speaking for the first time in his long career with a journalist. “Clinically it is difficult to understand what Marc is doing, the way he keeps winning races,” he said in an interview granted to ‘El Periódico’. “He definitely does not have a normal arm, nor will he ever have one again. The expression that Marc is currently racing with one and a half arms fits the current state of his right arm,” summarized the doctor.
As was already presumed, the fall in Mandalika last season, a week after being crowned in Motegi after six years of physical and sporting ordeal, changed everything. At that time, Márquez had managed to get close to his previous best form before breaking his humerus and undergoing four surgeries on the bone. The new blow caused some screws and a piece of bone placed in the joint to shift and pinch the radial nerve. To solve his lack of sensitivity on the bike, his trusted medical team brought in Dr. Andrés Maldonado, a specialist in this type of ailment.
The last intervention in May of this season ended up cutting the progression of muscles that have never been able – nor will be able – to fully recover. “The image is striking, but this sport is like that. Many of us have physical problems, and we have to deal with them,” lamented Jorge Martín, the championship leader with Aprilia. He also carries the consequences of a black 2025 with multiple crashes and surgeries.
Another member of his trusted circle also spoke about the defender of the crown’s decision. “With a photo, they can’t speculate. I think that, for his peace of mind, Marc doesn’t want to talk about the subject anymore,” illustrated Alex Márquez, his brother and closest confidant on and off the circuits. “If you see his body now, it is twisted. But it is twisted because he has to force other parts of the body much more,” he added.
Knowing that clockwise circuits like Misano, with more right turns, have been difficult for him due to the muscle atrophy he carries in his right arm, Marc Márquez wanted to leave the favoritism to his Aprilia rivals, Martín himself and Marco Bezzecchi, who continues to deal with the consequences of his harsh crash at the Dutch GP just before the summer break. With the three within 24 points and 333 still up for grabs, the show is guaranteed.
