Marc Márquez will not compete in the Catalan Grand Prix, and Ducati’s factory team has confirmed that his seat will remain empty. Through social media, the Italian manufacturer announced that only Pecco Bagnaia will represent the team in the garage while Márquez recovers from his latest surgery. His absence is currently indefinite, though he has not been ruled out for the next round of the championship—the Italian GP at Mugello, scheduled for the last weekend of May (31st). By then, the multiple world champion will undergo a medical checkup to assess the progress of his two recent procedures: one on his foot following the severe crash at Le Mans, and the ninth operation on his right arm to remove a notorious bent screw that, initially, did not prevent him from riding.
In fact, Márquez won his last world title with one broken screw and another bent, but the situation became unsustainable. A crash in Indonesia last October caused the bent screw to shift, pressing on the radial nerve. While this did not affect his daily activities or training, the specific position on a racing bike aggravated the issue. After months of uncertainty over why he couldn’t return to his peak form that made him a seven-time MotoGP champion, a new medical examination provided answers. The only solution was another surgery, originally planned after Barcelona but expedited due to his foot injury.
OFFICIAL: @marcmarquez93 will not have a replacement rider this weekend at the #CatalanGP — Ducati Corse (@ducaticorse) May 12, 2026
The surgery was declared “a success,” during which “two screws and a bone fragment from a previous Latarjet procedure (December 2019) that had migrated and compressed the radial nerve were removed,” explained team manager Davide Tardozzi, revealing the cause of Márquez’s inexplicable errors on a bike whose potential he never denied. After days of uncertainty, that bike will not be occupied at Montmeló.
MotoGP | Dall’Igna: “Márquez’s operation further highlights his overwhelming talent”
MotoGP: Márquez leaves hospital
Thus, Ducati invokes the regulation stating that with less than 11 days between two Grands Prix, the team is not required to field a substitute rider. They will not call up test rider Michele Pirro (who will participate in the test) or Niccolò Bulega, as the WorldSBK round at Most prevents his attendance in Barcelona this weekend. While Ducati is hopeful, they emphasize that “returning right now is not the priority,” but they expect Márquez back for the Italian GP at Mugello, Ducati’s home race. If not, another opportunity arises the following week with the Hungarian GP on June 7th, giving nearly a month for recovery. Márquez is already at home, focused on his rehabilitation, and “only the evolution in the coming weeks will determine when he returns to competition.”