Jorge Lorenzo says injury “weighing down” Marc Marquez but he will win another MotoGP title

Three-time MotoGP world champion Jorge Lorenzo believes injury is still “weighing down” Marc Marquez but is convinced he will win another title.

Marquez suffered a serious break to his right arm in a crash in the opening round of the 2020 season, which forced him to miss all of that campaign.

He would undergo four major operations on the arm between 2020 and 2022 to correct the injury, and has since made a full recovery.

However, Lorenzo - who was Marquez’s team-mate at Honda in 2019 - believes that injury is still affecting him and is the reason for him having not won on the Gresini Ducati yet.

Despite this observation, Lorenzo believes “we haven’t see Marquez’s last title yet”.

“That injury in Jerez 2020 I think is weighing him down physically,” Lorenzo said on DAZN, where he works as a pundit.

“We have seen great champions, like Mick Doohan, win four world championships with practically one and a half legs.

“I think we haven't seen Marc Marquez's last title yet, possibly, but it won't be easy for him to win a championship again, because he has two young riders [in front of him].

“Now Jorge Martin is going to Aprilia, but he has Pecco Bagnaia, who is younger than him, very fast and almost perfect.”

Lorenzo added:“In some braking you can see that the injury is weighing him down.

“All that added together makes that a champion like Marc Marquez, with supposedly the best bike, even if it is not the new one, is still not getting to win.

“Maybe he would have achieved a victory with the 2024 bike? Is its possible that he would be leading the world championship? I don't know.”

Lorenzo built on his theory by pointing to the fact Marquez was so dominant prior to his injury and says he still predicted him to fight for the championship this year.

“He was so far ahead of his rivals on a technical level in 2019, before that injury, that he was far superior to many,” said Lorenzo.

“Not only on a title level, but also on a technical and physical level.

“People thought the rule of three: best rider, with the best bike, they're going to sweep.

“Even I said he was going to win the championship. That he wasn't going to sweep, but that he was going to win the championship.

“And so far he still [hasn't achieved] any victories. He's fought for wins, he's got podiums, but he hasn't won, and he's Marc Marquez.”