Marc Marquez is on a mission to return to the top of MotoGP after suffering years of injury and setbacks in the past five years.
The Spaniard was the rider to beat in the 2010s as he won six titles with Honda in incredible style. But in 2020, it all came to an abrupt halt when he broke his right arm in a crash at Jerez.
The highside left him missing the entire season. Marquez was ‘afraid’ his arm would never recover, but it is not just that injury that caused him problems.
After winning three races in 2021, he experienced an episode of diplopia – double vision – at the end of the season. It returned in 2022 when he experienced a violent highside in Indonesia.
By then, Honda had regressed and Marquez was struggling to regain his competitiveness. He made the decision to join Gresini in 2024, and after winning three races and finishing third in the standings, he stepped up to the factory Ducati team for 2025.
Photo by Gold & Goose Photography/Getty ImagesMarc Marquez knows it’s ‘career over’ if he tweaks the muscle that caused his diplopia in a Ducati highside
Since leaving Honda, the Spaniard has not suffered another serious accident. While Marquez has had crashes at Ducati, they have not done him much harm as he leads the 2025 championship by 120 points.
However, as Mat Oxley notes, he is fully aware that one more highside could mean the end of his career. He runs the risk of his diplopia coming back permanently if he has one with Ducati.
“He knows very well that his next highside could be the end of his career. And the diplopia might come back permanently,” said Oxley via the BOBB TV – PADDOCK TV YouTube channel.
“And he accepts that risk. I mean, I certainly wouldn’t accept that risk. If I knew that my next highside, and you’re going to have a highside. There’s no way you’re going to avoid that.
“I think if anyone listening thought that their next highside would be the end of their career and perhaps the end of their normal life, they would stop.
“So he knows every time he lines up that it could be his last race. He doesn’t need to have a huge crash and break a leg badly. He can literally have a highside and just tweak that muscle, the same muscle, career over.”
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Photo by Gold & Goose Photography/Getty ImagesWill Marc Marquez end his MotoGP career at Ducati?
While Marquez will be determined to keep going as long as possible, he will know that he is entering the final years of his time in MotoGP. Davide Tardozzi wants Marquez to finish his career at Ducati; his contract expires before the 2027 regulations come into effect.
Right now, the 32-year-old has no reason to leave the Borgo Panigale outfit as he closes in on his seventh MotoGP title. However, there is a possibility that he could make another shock transfer.
Marquez returning to Honda is ‘not out of the question’ before he retires. It would be a fairytale reunion, given the incredible success they have had together.
Ducati’s dominance makes Marquez’s return to Honda ‘inevitable’ as he is currently on ‘easy mode’. It would bring him great satisfaction to turn the Japanese giants into champions.