Dani Pedrosa has advised Marc Marquez that he can’t simply forget about his past injuries as he tries to hold on to the MotoGP world championship.
Both Marquez and Ducati have admitted that he hasn’t been fully fit at the start of the 2026 season, still dealing with the effects of the shoulder injury that cut his 2025 campaign short by four rounds.
Pedrosa, who retired from racing in 2018, is familiar with what it’s like for a rider to struggle with physical issues. He had numerous injuries over his career and never managed to win a premier class title despite being one of the most naturally talented riders around.
Ducati are standing behind their rider despite his slow start and ongoing fitness concerns.
Speaking to AS, Pedrosa discussed how every rider eventually reaches a stage where they stop taking the same risks as before.
Marquez’s emphatic championship triumph last year completed one of the sport’s great comebacks after his 2020 arm injury, which ultimately required four surgeries.
But Pedrosa believes that the mental effects of that injury are still present and now worsened by ongoing shoulder issues. At 33, riding without caution becomes much more difficult, and Marquez is showing signs of wear and tear from his career.
“Rossi did it back in the day too, but eventually, when you reach a certain age, your efficiency on the track starts to decline, and the risks the younger riders take are much higher than yours. Then, everything reaches a point where it’s no longer possible.
“I don’t know if that’s now or if it will be some time from now, but I think the most decisive factor for Marc in this regard will be his physical condition.
“There are things that, even if you try not to see them or think about them, get ingrained in your subconscious. And there’s something you can’t completely erase or get rid of.
“Then you get back on the bike and little by little you increase your speed, you try more, you regain your confidence, and you convince yourself again that everything is fine.
“But, for example, in my case, or with some injuries I had, or Marc with the ones he had in his arm, there are lingering effects that make you think: ‘My arm is crooked, my ankle isn’t straight…’
“In the end, those things get ingrained somehow and you can’t get rid of them. So, as you get older, it all adds up, and it gets harder and harder to shake it off.”
Marquez has been spotted favouring his shoulder in the garage, but he hasn’t provided much detail about the pain he’s dealing with.
Pedrosa said even Marquez probably isn’t sure how long his recovery will take. He also suggested that Marquez would want to control the narrative around his situation. Marquez is careful not to give his rivals any mental edge by showing weakness.
“I mean, it’s very logical!” Pedrosa said of his approach. “First, because of your own uncertainty. Right now, you’re in a situation where you don’t know if your injury is improving or if it’s in a process where you don’t know if it will improve further or not. So, you yourself don’t know where it’s headed.
“Then there’s the other possibility: you try not to talk about what’s happening to you so much, because you’ll be answering the same question all day long, and that really overwhelms your brain.
“In the end, it seems like everything revolves around just that, and you can’t focus on anything else or on the competition. So, to avoid that being the focus, you try not to talk about it or think about it all day.
“And the third reason would be that if you’re not feeling well or not 100%, then don’t give too many clues.”
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