Ducati chooses not to replace injured Marc Marquez at Catalan MotoGP

Marc Marquez will not be replaced at this weekend’s Catalan MotoGP, after the nine-time world champion underwent successful surgery last weekend.

The Ducati Lenovo team rider crashed during Saturday’s sprint race at Le Mans, which resulted in the Spaniard suffering a nasty foot injury. Marquez was quickly ruled out of Sunday’s main race as a result. 

But Marquez also underwent surgery on the same shoulder he injured last October, meaning he brought forward the planned operation after struggling with the nerve in his right arm due to a damaged piece of metalwork.  

With Ducati already confirming that Marquez would not race this weekend in Barcelona, all eyes turned to the team potentially naming test rider Michele Pirro as his replacement. 

However, an official statement from Ducati said that Marquez would instead not be replaced at all. That leaves two-time MotoGP champion Francesco Bagnaia on solo duty at the Catalan Grand Prix. Ducati did not provide a reason as to why it is choosing not to replace Marquez.

Nicolo Bulega was not considered as WorldSBK is also back in action this weekend, with round five of the 2026 campaign taking place at the Autodrom Most, in the Czech Republic. 

For Marquez, missing his second home race of the season is a major setback as last year’s world champion is already 71 points adrift of series leader Marco Bezzecchi, and 70 points back from 2024 champion Jorge Martin. 

Marquez could make his return at the end of the month when MotoGP heads to Mugello for the Italian Grand Prix, which he won for just the second time in his premier class career in 2025. 

The only other occasion where Marquez won at Mugello in MotoGP was in 2014, a year which saw him win the first 10 races.

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