Marc Marquez says he still lacks the consistency needed to fight for the 2026 MotoGP title, but insists he has not lost confidence that he can turn his season around.
The factory Ducati rider heads to this weekend’s French Grand Prix without having scored a podium in a Sunday race this year. While he claimed pole position on a drying Jerez track and converted that into a sprint victory, a fourth-place finish in Goiania remains his best grand prix finish of the campaign.
The reigning world champion started the season on the back foot as he continued to deal with the after-effects of an injury he picked up at the Indonesian Grand Prix in October.
But even after declaring himself fully fit at Jerez, he remained off the pace in dry conditions and crashed out of the race on lap 2 after losing the lead to his brother Alex Marquez.
Marquez, whose career nearly ended following a hefty crash at the 2020 Spanish Grand Prix, said he needed to find a solution to consistently fight at the front this year.
“I’ve come out of worse situations,” he said at Le Mans on Thursday. “That said, we have to fix several things if we want to fight for the world championship. We’ve shown we have speed, but not consistency.
“The results show that there is speed, but there is no consistency. So that’s where we have to fix or try to understand why we are missing this consistency, which last year was our strong point in all kinds of conditions and in all kinds of tracks.
Marc Marquez, Ducati Team, Alex Marquez, Gresini Racing
Photo by: Jorge Guerrero / AFP via Getty Images
“This year, it is much more irregular. Little by little, we will solve it. But it is true that at the moment, with the results that we have shown, especially on Sundays, you can’t think of a title.”
Aprilia dominated the start of the 2026 MotoGP season, with Marco Bezzecchi claiming victories across the opening three flyaways at Buriram, Goiania and Austin.
But while Ducati appears to be in a weaker position compared to the previous year, directly hampering Marquez’s chances, the seven-time world champion has also struggled to remain on pace within the Italian manufacturer’s roster.
After the opening four rounds, Marquez has scored 57 points compared to 71 for VR46’s Fabio di Giannantonio. His own brother Alex Marquez has closed within three points of him after claiming Ducati’s maiden 2026 win at Jerez.
Marc insisted the onus was on him to improve his performance, as he refused to engage in a blame game with Ducati.
“I’m never going to blame the bike for the problems, and the team won’t blame them solely on the rider,” he said. “A Ducati won in Jerez, which means the bike is capable of winning and fighting for the title. It’s up to me to find ways to improve.”
Marc Marquez, Ducati Team
Photo by: Gold and Goose Photography / LAT Images / via Getty Images
Having identified the front-end of the bike as a key weakness at the Jerez test, Marquez said he was also struggling in left-hand corners, which were once one of his biggest strengths.
“I am noticing it more in fast curves. It is where I am suffering more, and above all in left-hand curves,” he said. “It is where I am going much slower than last year. But, well, it is the combination of everything.”
Rain is forecast throughout the French GP weekend, potentially levelling up the field and giving more opportunities to a rider like Marquez, who thrives in low-grip conditions.
However, having claimed an unlikely win in a mixed-weather sprint race at Austin, Marquez said he would prefer to be quick in dry conditions at Le Mans.
“If you are waiting for the rain, it means that you are not fast in the dry. So, we hope for dry [conditions].
“It’s better to have dry conditions. Wet conditions are always a kind of lottery. It depends on the circuit, depends on the tyres, depends on the amount of water.
“You have one feeling or another one. Let’s see how we can improve our feeling in the dry during the weekend.”
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