Marquez Shows His Right Arm: Why He Is Still Fighting for the Title

• Seven operations on his right shoulder, the most recent in May 2026
• Double win at Aragon worth 37 points, now second in the championship, 19 points down
• Marquez splits the calendar into races to attack and races to defend

On Thursday, Marc Marquez shared a series of photos from recent weeks on his Instagram account. They show moments from the Aragon weekend, celebrations with his brother Alex, his partner Gemma Pinto, plus training scenes on the bike and in the gym. One image from the series has been causing a stir ever since. It shows Marquez training, and the difference between his right and left arm is obvious at first glance. Around the right shoulder the arm looks sunken, the muscle noticeably weaker than on the healthy left side. The post carries only the terse caption “Unposted”.

What does the photo of Marc Marquez’ right arm show?

The image shows the consequences of seven operations on the right shoulder that Marquez has been through over the years. The most recent procedure took place in May 2026 and, according to media reports, was intended to relieve a trapped radial nerve that had come under pressure from metalwork implanted during earlier surgeries.

The injury history goes back to the 2025 Indonesian Grand Prix. There, shortly after clinching his seventh premier-class title, Marquez injured his right arm in an incident triggered by Marco Bezzecchi. Since then he has been working with an arm that no longer has the strength it once had. By his own account the nerve now functions normally again. His physical endurance across a full race weekend, however, remains limited.

For people around him the situation is no secret. They describe it openly as complicated and consider it remarkable that Marquez is still fighting for the title under these conditions.

Why does Maximo Quiles talk about only one arm?

His protégé Maximo Quiles summed up the situation after the Moto3 race at Aragon: Marquez is not riding with one and a half arms, but with just one, because the other is completely wrecked. Quiles is 18 years old, comes from Murcia and is managed by Marquez’ company Vertical Management.

The background to the remark: Quiles had won his race on Sunday shortly after breaking his own collarbone. Asked whether, like Marquez, he was winning with “one and a half arms”, he replied: “It’s not comparable. Marc isn’t racing with one and a half arms, he’s racing with just one arm, because his other one is completely shattered.”

What did Silverstone reveal about the limits of the arm?

At the British Grand Prix, Marquez managed only ninth in the sprint and seventh in the main race. A video from Ducati’s own “Inside” series then showed him telling his team that he had no control over his right arm.

The scene was never meant for the public, as Marquez admitted on Thursday at Aragon. There he also explained what was behind it. After the summer break he had expected to be physically stronger because he had built muscle in the gym. So he approached the weekend as usual and rode aggressively from the first practice session. By Sunday morning he realised the time for that had not yet come.

“I need to just do some laps on Friday and then be in a better physical condition for the Saturday and Sunday,” he said. Asked about the connection with the nerve problem from the spring, he answered curtly that it was related to the seven operations on his right shoulder, and that there was nothing more to say about it.

After Silverstone, Marquez was fourth in the standings, 40 points behind Jorge Martin on the Aprilia.

How is Marquez dividing up the calendar now?

Marquez says he is looking for his “new 100 percent” and is sorting the remaining races according to whether he can attack or has to defend. Circuits with plenty of left-hand corners suit his right arm and also match his riding style. Aragon is one of them.

He admits that riding came more easily to him last year. At Silverstone, giving everything on Friday and Saturday, he managed only fifth and fourth. At the same time he sees Aprilia as a genuine threat, because all four Aprilia riders are fast at every circuit, especially on tracks with quick corners such as Assen or Silverstone. He does not feel the pressure is any greater than before. He wants to be competitive in the coming races, and if that does not work out, the day and the race will simply be written off.

How does the Aragon double win fit into that?

At Aragon, despite the limitations, Marquez took both wins of the weekend and with them the full 37 points. It was his eighth premier-class victory at MotorLand after successes in 2013, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2024 and 2025. Since his move to Ducati in 2024 he has been unbeaten there in both sprint and Grand Prix.

Pole position, however, went to Marco Bezzecchi, who set the fastest qualifying lap with a new track record. Marquez passed him in the sprint at the very first corner. In the main race he settled it side by side with the Italian on the back straight at more than 300 kph. After that, Pedro Acosta on the KTM sat on his rear wheel for long stretches. Marquez was able to pull out a small gap in the closing laps and won by around 1.75 seconds. The victory was therefore not as clear-cut as in previous years.

Marquez had already identified the circuit as a good fit during his first test there in 2010 on the 125, because he was able to keep pace with Moto2 machinery. His first race at Aragon, though, ended at turn one.

What does this mean for the title fight?

With the double win, Marquez has moved up to second in the standings and sits 19 points behind Jorge Martin. Aragon was one of the circuits where he could attack. Whether the coming races suit his arm equally well remains to be seen. The only certainty is that, for all the success, the shoulder is not in good shape, as the photo Marquez published himself makes clear.

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