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<\/p>\n\u2018Vulnerable\u2019 and \u2018Marc Marquez\u2019 aren\u2019t words that you often find in the same postcode. <\/p>\n
But for this weekend\u2019s opening Grand Prix of the 2026 MotoGP season in Thailand, they\u2019re words that, at least for one weekend, belong in adjacent neighbourhoods. <\/p>\n
That\u2019s not in dispute; what\u2019s unknown is for how long, and with what impact.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Every MotoGP qualifying, practice and race LIVE and ad-break free from lights out to the chequered flag. New to Kayo? Start Your Free Trial Today ><\/a><\/p>\n Rewind back to last September in Japan \u2013 when Marquez won his seventh MotoGP title<\/a> with five rounds to spare after taking 25 wins in 34 starts between sprint races and Grands Prix \u2013 and the Ducati maestro looked invincible. But \u2013 MotoGP being MotoGP \u2013 that didn\u2019t last, the Spaniard fracturing his right shoulder after a crash with Aprilia\u2019s Marco Bezzecchi on the opening lap of the following Grand Prix in Indonesia<\/a>, and missing the rest of the season after unavoidable surgery. <\/p>\n Given Marquez\u2019s injury history \u2013 the trajectory of his career changed completely after coming back too early from a right shoulder injury in the opening round of 2020 \u2013 the 33-year-old was always going to be cautious when he returned, and pre-season testing painted a confusing picture for the rider who has 99 Grand Prix wins across all three championship classes since 2008.<\/p>\n MORE MOTOGP NEWS<\/p>\n THE SHOWMAN AND THE QUICK KID<\/a>: The link between MotoGP\u2019s rookie odd couple<\/p>\n \u2018FITTEST EVER\u2019<\/a>: The F1 link that has Miller primed to push Yamaha forward<\/p>\n Yes, he was towards the sharp end of the timesheets in Malaysia and Thailand, but after last year\u2019s total dominance, he looked mortal. <\/p>\n The two-day Thailand test just last weekend was messy; already ailing with a stomach bug and suffering in the searing heat, Marquez crashed twice on the first day and then again on the final day during his race simulation to mimic this weekend\u2019s 26-lap Grand Prix, and was already off Bezzecchi\u2019s searing front-running pace when he fell.<\/p>\n \u201cTechnically we improve, we improve on the last day [of testing] here in Thailand, we start to do some good steps in the direction that I want and I start to feel better and better,\u201d Marquez said in Thursday\u2019s pre-event press conference. <\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s true that the process of my recovery makes this pre-season a bit more difficult to be precise in the comments and to be always riding in the same way, but a test is always harder for the physical condition than a race weekend.<\/p>\n \u201cThe injury in Indonesia looked an easy one in the beginning, but it was not an easy one and it takes time. The fact that was it was again the right shoulder takes even more time. I hope I have a run-off of area to improve on the next races, but I don\u2019t know which will be my 100 per cent of this right arm, so for this reason I want to understand where I am.\u201d <\/p>\n Can Toprak Razgatlioglu Conquer MotoGP? | 09:39<\/p>\n Stomach bugs are easy to solve, but all signs point to a 2026 MotoGP season where the margin Marquez had over the rest of the field will be significantly trimmed, no matter the state of myriad body parts.<\/p>\n With a seismic regulation change to 850cc machinery on the horizon for next year<\/a> and an engine-spec freeze in place for 2026, this campaign shapes as a 22-round holding pattern for what\u2019s to come. <\/p>\n With continuity of rules, the field should \u2013 theoretically \u2013 compress, the avenues to make gains that can upturn the pecking order slowing to a trickle. <\/p>\n Aprilia has already shown that, after Bezzecchi stepped into the void left by the often-injured Jorge Martin last season and finished 2025 with consecutive wins to take third in the championship<\/a>, it has another gear. <\/p>\n Ducati\u2019s sweet-handling 2024 machine \u2013 used by Alex Marquez to uncork a runner-up season nobody saw coming \u2013 is the basis for the aerodynamic package for the Italian brand\u2019s 2026 challenger, but it\u2019s not a bike that threatens to lock out the podium as it did for fun in the first half of last season.<\/p>\n Honda has made enormous gains between Thailand last year and this. KTM \u2013 in the hands of Pedro Acosta, at any rate \u2013 shapes as a dangerous sniper for silverware. <\/p>\n Marquez \u2013 because he is who he is \u2013 remains the favourite for the season. But at 33 years of age and as a rider whose cat-like reflexes have arguably lost a little of their supernatural edge, he\u2019ll know that Thailand this weekend is one to get through and test his repaired shoulder in the heat of competition for the first time in five months. <\/p>\n Given Aprilia\u2019s prowess in testing at the same circuit just a week ago, this year\u2019s visit to Buriram might be one where Marquez reluctantly acknowledges the need to sacrifice the short-term battle for the bigger prize of winning a longer war. Opponents with designs on being in the title fight might want to strike a blow now, as history suggests that\u2019s not going to last \u2026<\/p>\n Here\u2019s your Friday form guide to the opening round of the 2026 MotoGP season, with the 26-lap Thailand Grand Prix set for 7pm (AEDT) on Sunday after the 13-lap sprint race at 7pm Saturday (AEDT). <\/p>\n Marquez was fast but crash-prone in testing in Thailand last weekend as he returns from a five-month layoff. (Photo by Lillian SUWANRUMPHA \/ AFP)Source: AFP<\/p>\n \u2018I UNDERSTAND MY ROLE\u2019: MILLER GETS QUARTARARO\u2019S IMPATIENCE<\/p>\n Australia\u2019s Jack Miller says he feels sympathy for the plight of fellow Yamaha rider Fabio Quartararo, with the 2021 world champion again refusing to confirm reports linking him to a switch to Honda for 2027 at Buriram on Thursday. <\/p>\n Quartararo took Yamaha\u2019s most recent MotoGP win in Germany in 2022, and the 26-year-old has become increasingly and outwardly frustrated by Yamaha\u2019s slide to the back of the pack since, reports in es.motorsport.com in late January placing him at Honda\u2019s factory team for next year after his entire seven-year MotoGP career has been spent on Yamaha machinery. <\/p>\n While the Frenchman was coy about his future on Thursday \u2013 \u201cI can\u2019t tell you much, I can tell you my decision is clear,\u201d he said \u2013 Miller understands Quartararo\u2019s impatience for progress from Yamaha\u2019s brand-new V4-engined machine, with the new power plant fast-tracked into competition this season but leaving Yamaha\u2019s riders largely cut adrift from the other four manufacturers during pre-season testing.<\/p>\n PIT TALK PODCAST: Renita and Matt are joined by MotoGP tech guru Peter Bom to make sense of 2026 pre-season testing, and look forward to this weekend\u2019s opening round in Thailand. Listen to Pit Talk below.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t know the outs and ins of the [contract] situation with him \u2013 but I understand the frustration,\u201d Miller said of Quartararo. <\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s a world champion, he believes and he trains his arse off, does everything that he can do to try to be at the top. When you\u2019ve not got the package that you want, it\u2019s frustrating. <\/p>\n \u201cYear after year, I believe you get to a certain point \u2026 me, I\u2019m still relatively fresh with the [Yamaha] project and I understand my role, what I\u2019m supposed to be doing. <\/p>\n \u201cWe obviously want to try to being big results and do the best we can on Sundays, but I embrace the other side of it as well, to take a project from where we are and get it to where it belongs.\u201d <\/p>\n Miller\u2019s vast experience with V4-engined bikes from his tenure at Honda, Ducati and KTM before arriving at Yamaha last season has become even more crucial, with Quartararo\u2019s teammate Alex Rins struggling with injury in the past two seasons and Miller\u2019s Pramac Yamaha teammate a rookie, incoming World Superbikes champion Toprak Razgatlioglu. <\/p>\n The 31-year-old was Yamaha\u2019s fastest rider in last week\u2019s test in Thailand<\/a>, but that only placed him 14th out of 22 on the timesheets as he continues to balance chasing outright performance with testing items and bike set-ups during Grands Prix weekends. <\/p>\n \u201cTesting is testing \u2026 you can do things in testing with fuel [loads] and run everything on the limit, but once we go racing we\u2019ll understand where we properly stand,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n \u201cWe obviously know we have our issues, but the goal is to be there or thereabouts every time and work our way up the leaderboard.<\/p>\n \u201cYou might be a little more busy or preoccupied over the weekend [with testing], but once you\u2019re preparing for the lights to go out, you\u2019re putting in everything you believe is going to be the best package for the race.\u201d<\/p>\n Miller\u2019s past three visits to the Buriram track have grabbed headlines, as he led for 10 laps in a deluge in 2022 for Ducati before finishing second to Miguel Oliveira, who took KTM\u2019s most recent win in the class. <\/p>\n The Australian matched a 2024 season-best with fifth place in another rain-hit race in 2024, while on debut for Yamaha last year, he qualified a stunning fourth<\/a> before tyre wear consigned him to 11th in the Grand Prix. <\/p>\n Three days out from Sunday\u2019s 26-lap race, rain is forecast to hit the Buriram circuit an hour before the 3pm start, potentially replicating the conditions that typically see Miller shine across his 198 previous MotoGP starts.<\/p>\n Miller was Yamaha\u2019s most competitive rider in testing, but the Japanese brand looks some way adrift of the other four manufacturers to start 2026. (Photo by Lillian SUWANRUMPHA \/ AFP)Source: AFP<\/p>\n RIDER MARKET PAUSED AS TEAMS HOLD OUT FOR NEW DEAL<\/p>\n A raft of rider market moves mooted to happen before the Thailand weekend didn\u2019t eventuate on Thursday, as MotoGP teams continue to negotiate with promoter MotoGP Sports Entertainment (formerly known as Dorna) over how revenue is to be shared from the championship\u2019s commercial rights going forward.<\/p>\n MORE MOTOGP NEWS<\/p>\n CHAMPS MOVING? AUSSIE\u2019S FUTURE?<\/a> Five bold predictions for the 2026 MotoGP season<\/p>\n