Ducati team manager Davide Tardozzi confirmed that Marc Marquez took a big hit his right arm and left hand in the 190km/h accident at the start of Friday practice for the US MotoGP.
The reigning world champion brought out the red flags when the rear of his factory Ducati stepped out over the Turn 10 crest in the opening ten minutes of FP1 at COTA.
As the rear returned, Marquez lost the front of his Desmosedici GP26, sending him sliding across the gravel and into a protective barrier.
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Marc Marquez crash, FP1, 2026 US MotoGP.
© Gold and Goose
Marc Marquez – who took his first win of the season in last weekend’s Brazilian sprint – was slow to stand up but eventually walked away having removed his left glove.
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The Spaniard elected to return by scooter straight to the Ducati pits rather than head to the medical centre.
“There’s nothing broken”
“Marc had a big hit on the right arm and left hand. There’s nothing broken. It’s just a skin problem. He can ride again, but for sure it’s painful,” Tardozzi said.
After a change of leathers and some visible bandaging to his left hand, Marquez was back on track for the final ten minutes of FP1.
He swiftly climbed to fourth on the timesheets, 0.378s behind KTM’s Pedro Acosta, after completing nine laps.
Aprilia’s title leader, Marco Bezzecchi, began the COTA weekend in ninth, but stuck with the same tyres throughout.
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Marquez is a seven-time COTA MotoGP winner, but his most recent victory was in 2021, after crashing from the lead of last year’s grand prix.
He is currently fifth and 22 points behind Bezzecchi in the world championship standings, not helped by a wheel rim failure in the Thai season opener.
Some other riders also suffered moments through Turn 10 this morning, but remained on two wheels.
Afternoon Practice starts at 3pm local time, 8pm UK.
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