Marc Marquez is entering the 2026 MotoGP season as the reigning champion, having clinched his seventh title in 2025—his first in six years—with the Ducati Lenovo team. Sitting down with Hypebeast at the new season launch event in Kuala Lumpur, the celebrated rider opens up about the physical toll of his comeback and the mental fortitude required to return to the top after a “nightmare” period of surgeries and rehabilitation from 2020 to 2023.
Despite the triumph, Marquez admits he isn’t fully back to peak physical condition following a right shoulder injury sustained late last year. He notes he is in the “last steps” of rehabilitation and is already back on the bike preparing for the season opener. Regarding the machinery, Marquez highlights that the 2026 Ducati Desmosedici represents a “small upgrade” rather than a drastic revolution, citing engine freeze regulations ahead of major rule changes in 2027.
The conversation highlights the unique dynamic with his brother, Alex Marquez, who finished second in the championship last year. Marc cites Alex as his “number one rival” for 2026, noting that while they live and train together, the on-track competition remains fierce. “If he beat you, I will try to defend my colors,” Marquez states, acknowledging that at 30 and 33 years old, the dynamic has shifted. As he chases another title, Marquez emphasizes that while his passion remains unchanged, his approach to risk has evolved, relying more on experience and instinct than the “all-in” mentality of his youth.
Marc Marquez will look to defend his title when the 2026 MotoGP season begins later this year. Take a read below at the exclusive conversation he had with Hypebeast.
Hypebeast: You are entering this season as the reigning champion after clinching the 7th MotoGP title, first in six years, how is your mindset going into the new season?
Marc Marquez: 2025 has been an incredible season, especially because I was coming from a nightmare that was four different surgeries on the right arm… double vision, injured, and so we recover. I mean, from 2020 to 2023, it was a nightmare. 2024 was like a transition. And then when I jumped to the Ducati Lenovo team, I had the best chance to fight for a championship. We get it.
Unfortunately, we get it, and the next week we crash again and injured again on the right shoulder. It was a long winter, and now we are in a progress of another rehabilitation. It’s true that we are already in the last steps, because we are already riding the bike and trying to prepare for 2026 to fight for the championship.
Following your shoulder injury late last year, do you feel you are back to 100% strength, or are you still adapting your riding style to manage the physical load?
At the moment, I cannot say to you but I would like to say that ‘Yeah, I’m 100%, ready to go.’ I feel like we have some some steps there that we are missing. But we still have time. Let’s see if we can recover in a good way and start the season in the best way possible.
You’ve noted that “a fast bike is a nice bike”—what is the most significant improvement you’ve felt on the new Desmosedici during the Sepang tests compared to last year’s model?
Of course. We are in a competition. Competition means every year and every month you need to check and to try to develop a technical side and human side, rider side. So, we are always looking for new things and on the technical side, normally from one season to the other one is where we introduce the new things. It’s true that this year, from 25/26 the changes are not big, because the rules say that you cannot change the engine. Because in 2027 we have a big change on the on the rules, and that will be a big investment for all the teams. So, this season, I think it is only a small upgrade from 2025’s strategy. But we tried here in Malaysia, the 2026 bike for three days and it looks good.
You’ve stated that your brother Alex is your “number one rival” for 2026; how will you balance your off-track brotherly bond with the spirit of competition? Especially now that you’re both riding Ducati machinery.
For both of us, it’s something super special to share the race track, competition, podiums with with your brother. We’ve shared a cateogry before but last year was the first time that we share many podiums, many spring races, and in fact, we finished the championship first and second. This year, he will be one of the main opponents, but in the end, it’s your brother, and we are living together now.
He will move to his own house because he’s already 30 years old, and he deserves it. But we are training, living together, trying to help each other, and it is the best way to keep improving. In the end, I know that will be one of the main opponents, but it’s your brother. If he beat you, I will try to defend my colors, the red colors. But, he is also riding the Ducati 2026 official bike in another team, so he will be fast.
You’ve both made history as brothers in the sport. Have you both always been very competitive? What was it like when you were younger, getting into the sport?
The fact that I’m the older brother, three years older, it was always like an extra push for my brother. That three years now, when you are 30 and 33 is not a big difference, but when we were 12 and 15, you feel it. We were doing the same training plans, same things and that helps his approach to the races, I think.
He was always in my shadow as the brother of Marc. But in the end, he is the Spanish champion. Then he won the Moto3 World Championship, the Moto2 World Championship and in MotoGP last year, he finished second. So in the end, it is not anymore the brother of. He did in a very good way, because it’s not easy. Every rider have his ego, and he’s Alex and he has a super strong mental side, and it’s something that I learned from him.
After winning nine world titles, do you feel the pressure to chase a 10th?
If you are in competition, you want to win, and this is our mentality. And yes, it’s 2026, we will try to win again. The most difficult challenge of my career was not win the first one, the second one, third one. I didn’t know what’s going on, but I was in the sky. I was winning for four years in a row, and then from one day to the other, we go in and it’s a nightmare with a lot of injuries. On that race where I injured my arm, I was riding in an incredible way, but I crashed, and then I go into that nightmare. It was super difficult physically but also mentally. So yeah, we took a very important decisions to live on. That was the team of my life and now I moved to Ducati and all the things were super difficult for that reason. It was the most challenging thing in my career, to come back and win again. Something is coming and we will try for a next one and sooner or later, I will retire quietly.
It’s hard to not ignore that MotoGP is a dangerous sport, but there’s also a major thrill to it. After racing for so many seasons, what still keeps you coming back? Has the “why” changed since you first started in this sport?
The passion is the same one. The way to analyze the risk is not the same one. But in the end, kt doesn’t mean that I will not take the risk. It means that it’s not necessary to take the risk every time. If you know me when I was 20 or 22 years old, I was all in, all the races, all practices… even a free practice, I was all in everything, always taking the maximum risk. The fact that I now get injured and in one moment I was close to deciding when I would stop my career, I then understand the things in a different way.
In the end, it’s a natural process. I think. There are incoming young riders age 20, 21, 22 years old, and sometimes I look at some movements or some overtakes or some corners, and I think, ‘What are they are doing?’ but they are doing well. Experience gives you that extra confidence in difficult situations, but also rest a bit and let instinct take over during a time when normally it is something that you would need to think about on the bike. But, sometimes you need to just believe in yourself.
