{"id":939517,"date":"2026-10-24T18:06:14","date_gmt":"2026-10-24T18:06:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/939517\/"},"modified":"2026-10-24T18:06:14","modified_gmt":"2026-10-24T18:06:14","slug":"how-marquez-changed-his-approach-to-launch-late-motogp-title-challenge","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/939517\/","title":{"rendered":"How Marquez changed his approach to launch late MotoGP title challenge"},"content":{"rendered":"

In Austria,\u00a0Marc Marquez<\/a> finished second in the sprint, but his expression on the podium did not quite fit a result that was, by any measure, a very good one. Even more striking was the seriousness of his face in Japan, immediately after winning his seventh sprint of the 2026 MotoGP campaign, which he barely celebrated.<\/p>\n

The reigning world champion\u2019s lack of expression in what should have been a moment of joy led many to suspect that something was going on with the\u00a0Ducati rider. Asked about it, the Spaniard explained that his restrained displays of emotion were no coincidence, but rather part of a strategy designed to conserve energy throughout the weekend and allow him to focus more of it on Sunday, when the biggest haul of points is up for grabs.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not that I\u2019m serious; I\u2019m saving my energy. Emotional ups and downs take a lot out of you. Physically, we can cope because we\u2019re well trained. But during a grand prix, adrenaline levels rise sharply and then drop suddenly. That\u2019s exhausting,\u201d Marquez told Autosport\u00a0at the time.<\/p>\n

In a recent conversation with him at Phillip Island, Marquez offered further insight into how he came to the conclusion that he needed to adopt this more emotionally restrained approach in the build-up to the main race.<\/p>\n

It was during the first half of the season, when he struggled the most, largely because of the limitations caused by his right shoulder following the crash he suffered in Indonesia last year, shortly after celebrating his seventh title.<\/p>\n

The after-effects of that accident hampered him at the start of this season, until he underwent surgery during the French Grand Prix weekend. The operation resolved the episodes of sudden loss of sensation in his arm caused by compression of the radial nerve.<\/p>\n

\"Marc <\/p>\n

Marc Marquez, Ducati Team<\/p>\n

Photo by: Gold and Goose Photography \/ Getty Images<\/p>\n

Nevertheless, the accumulated damage to his right upper body has forced him to devote more time to physiotherapy and recovery, adding a significant extra burden to the demands of a grand prix weekend \u2014 demands that have increased considerably since the format was changed in 2023 and sprint races were introduced.<\/p>\n

\u201cDuring the first half of the season, I was completely empty by Sunday. I would wake up and all I wanted to do was spend the whole day lying on the sofa. And it wasn\u2019t a question of being physically unfit,\u201d Marquez told Autosport, before outlining the reasoning that led him to conclude that he needed to take a more serious approach to managing his energy.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe data from my cycling sessions and other aspects of my training were good. Obviously, I had the problem with my arm, but from a cardiovascular point of view, I was fit.<\/p>\n

\u201cThen I started to realise that when you have an injury or physical difficulties, the mental side has to bear a greater burden. It\u2019s very difficult to switch off mentally. Even now, during this interview, I\u2019m trying to concentrate fully on what you\u2019re asking me and on my answers,.<\/p>\n

\u201cI realised that if I spent more time in my office and focused on looking after my physical condition, I felt better afterwards and had more energy. Perhaps it also helps that I\u2019m convinced this method works. Sometimes, when a rider is certain about something, everything becomes easier. I\u2019m convinced that I know what I need to do to perform at my best.”<\/p>\n

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– The Autosport.com Team<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In Austria,\u00a0Marc Marquez finished second in the sprint, but his expression on the podium did not quite fit…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":939518,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[572],"tags":[64,63,27784,8542,506044,4280,5745,806,805,803,804,126450,85],"class_list":["post-939517","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-motosport","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-australian-gp","tag-ducati-team","tag-how-marquez-changed-his-approach-to-launch-late-motogp-title-challenge","tag-marc-marquez","tag-motogp","tag-motor","tag-motor-sports","tag-motosport","tag-motosports","tag-phillip-island-grand-prix-circuit","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/939517","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=939517"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/939517\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/939518"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=939517"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=939517"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=939517"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}