Marquez set for surgery after big Le Mans crash

7-time MotoGP champion to have surgery on foot, shoulder as Jorge Martin wins Sprint from the third row

Marc Marquez will undergo surgery after a violent crash in the closing stages of the Le Mans Sprint, with the Ducati Lenovo Team rider ruled out of Sunday’s French Grand Prix and next week’s Catalan GP.

Marquez had looked sensational in qualifying, smashing the lap record before being edged out by teammate Francesco Bagnaia, but his Saturday unravelled in the Sprint. Starting from the middle of the front row, he slipped backwards in the opening laps and then crashed heavily at Turn 13 on the penultimate lap.

The front folded first, and although Marquez briefly saved it with his knee, the rear then snapped out and threw him from the bike. He got to his feet, but cameras captured him struggling to walk as he arrived back at the Ducati garage, and checks confirmed a fracture to the fifth metatarsal in his right foot.

That injury has also brought forward an operation he was already due to have on the right shoulder he injured at last year’s Indonesian GP. Marquez said the shoulder problem has been contributing to his inconsistency this season because a damaged screw had shifted and was touching the radial nerve.

Speaking to DAZN, Marquez said: “That was one of the reasons I was taking it easy. I knew I could crash at any moment. I already had surgery scheduled for after Catalunya, on my right shoulder.

“After Jerez, I realised something wasn’t right.

“We went to see the doctors, and they found that everything was fine, but that the infamous broken screw—the one in the lateral ligament—was in a different position.

“It was a very strange feeling, because at home I felt fine, but when I came here, it prevented me from riding, because it was touching the radial nerve.

“That’s what causes me to make mistakes, be inconsistent, and have unexpected crashes.

“That’s why I was so calm. We’ll do it all at once.

“The shoulder procedure is simply opening it up and removing that screw. The recovery time should be short.”

He also linked the Le Mans fall to the same issue, adding: “My head is in the right place, but I can’t be consistent because, when there’s a problem with the nerve, it fails when you least expect it.

“I made a mistake yesterday, and today, in the race, I made another one.

“It was very strange because with the position on the motocross bike, nothing happened.”

Speaking to Sky Italy, Marquez added: “I hadn’t said anything, but we had already scheduled a surgery on the shoulder after the Catalan GP.

“At Jerez I realised something was wrong and the doctors saw that after the crash in Indonesia everything is fine, but the screw that had broken is in a slightly different position. It’s only one-two millimeters, but it touches the radial nerve.”

Up front, Jorge Martin delivered a brilliant ride from eighth on the grid to win the Sprint for Aprilia. He launched superbly, swept around the outside of Marco Bezzecchi, Bagnaia and Marquez through Turn 3, and grabbed the lead by Turn 4.

From there, Martin controlled the race. Bezzecchi briefly held second before a mistake at Turn 7 on lap three allowed Bagnaia through, but neither rider had the pace to challenge the leader once he stretched the gap beyond a second. Martin steadily increased his advantage and never looked under serious pressure on the way to his second Sprint win of the season.

Bagnaia finished second to make it three straight Saturday podiums, while Bezzecchi completed the rostrum in third to underline Aprilia’s strength again in 2026. Pedro Acosta charged to fourth after an aggressive opening phase, and local hero Fabio Quartararo gave Yamaha and his home fans something to cheer with fifth.

Joan Mir was close behind in sixth, followed by Ai Ogura in seventh, Alex Marquez in eighth and rookie Diogo Moreira in ninth, with the Brazilian collecting his first Sprint point in MotoGP. Fabio Di Giannantonio crossed the line 16th after an earlier crash, while Marc Marquez, Raul Fernandez, Franco Morbidelli, Enea Bastianini, Luca Marini and Jonas Folger all failed to finish.

Finishing 15th behind teammate Razgatlioglu, Jack Miller said he extracted everything he could from the Yamaha but still came away frustrated after a tough Sprint. “Today I pushed at the maximum from beginning to end, but unfortunately it still wasn’t enough. During the race I struggled to get the rear of the bike to respond the way I wanted, especially when trying to maximise the drive out of the corners.

“At one point in Turn 9 I got blocked by the rider in front of me and had to cut across the chicane to avoid contact, which cost me around a second. Small things like that make a big difference when the whole group is so close. We’re still missing a bit compared to the others. On used tyres we were lapping in the high 1’31s, low 1’32s, and we know we need to improve that area. Of course I’m not happy with the position, but at the same time we have to remember this bike is still extremely new. The project is only a few months old, so we’re not even refining a solid base yet — we’re still building that foundation step by step.”

The championship picture has shifted sharply after Le Mans. Marco Bezzecchi now leads on 108 points, with Jorge Martin closing to just six behind on 102. Pedro Acosta is third on 72, ahead of Fabio Di Giannantonio on 71, while Marc Marquez has slipped to fifth on 57, one point ahead of Alex Marquez. Marquez’s latest setback leaves him with a mountain to climb to defend his 2025 title. He has produced extraordinary recoveries before, but from here it would take something truly miraculous to fight back against the strength and consistency of Aprilia. Jorge Martin’s dominant Sprint performance was reminiscent of his 2024 title winning form, and with his recovery from his own career-threatening injuries now complete, he looks to be the only rider capable of  troubling teammate Bezzecchi for this year’s title.

2026 FRENCH MOTOGP SPRINT RACE