A behind the scenes video has revealed the moment an emotional Marc Marquez told Ducati that a hidden nerve problem was costing him half a second a lap
Marc Marquez’s hidden physical struggle has been laid bare in new behind the scenes footage from Ducati, with the Spaniard revealing that a nerve problem had been draining strength from his arm and leaving him unable to understand some of his crashes.
The footage comes from episode five of season two of Ducati’s YouTube series INSIDE Ducati Lenovo Team, which follows the factory squad through the French Grand Prix weekend and captures Marquez’s emotional conversation inside the garage after his heavy Le Mans Sprint crash.
Speaking to senior Ducati figures including Gigi Dall’Igna and crew chief Marco Rigamonti, an emotional Marquez explained the issue he had been trying to keep private.
“I’m riding with one and a half arms,” he said.
Marquez told the team the problem was linked to an old injury issue that had worsened after his Indonesia crash and was affecting a nerve when he got into riding position on the bike.
“When I get into the riding position, it touches the nerve,” he said. “It takes away strength in the arm and in these three fingers.”
The loss of strength, he said, was directly affecting his riding.
“I can’t push the bike.”
Marquez said the problem was not constant, but came and went during a run, making it even harder to manage.
“For a few laps, everything is fine,” he said. “A few laps later, not so.”
Despite that, Marquez said he was still capable of being fast, but no longer at his true level.
“I can go fast,” he said. “But the problem is I’m lapping half a second slower than what I can do.”
The footage also captures one of his most revealing admissions, as he tried to explain why some of his falls had made so little sense to him.
“The problem is that I keep crashing and I don’t understand why,” Marquez said. “Because I’m not even forcing at the limit.”
He added: “I entered fast, it tucked a bit. I can’t push the bike.”
Marquez also made clear that surgery had already been planned before Le Mans, but that he had wanted to get through the weekend without the issue becoming public.
“I asked to keep it a secret,” he said. “I wanted to do the weekend without the questions.”
He added: “It was already planned. First this needs to be dealt with.”
After being declared unfit following his Sprint crash, that operation was brought forward to coincide with surgery on the foot injury he suffered at Le Mans.
Ducati later confirmed the procedure had gone well, but Marquez will miss the next round in Catalunya as he recovers. In his absence, team-mate Pecco Bagnaia will carry the factory Ducati team alone.
