Marc Marquez: 2027? ‘Less technical devices, more difference a rider can make’

Marc Marquez’s two-year factory Ducati contract means the Spaniard will race in MotoGP at least until the end of the current engine rules in 2026.

There will then be major changes for 2027, with the introduction of smaller 850cc engines combined with a reduction in aerodynamics and a ban on ride-height devices.

The eight-time world champion, who joined MotoGP during the second year of 1000cc engines in 2013, doubts that the cut in engine capacity will change lap times too much.

“There will be the regulation change in 2027, with less aerodynamics and slightly lower engine displacement, but I think the bikes will still run the same,” Marquez said.

“Because I don't know how the factories do it but, in the end, they always make them [as] fast again.”

However, Marquez believes reducing aero will aid overtaking, while the removal of ride height devices - including holeshot devices for race starts - will put more control back into the hands of the riders.

“The fact of using less aerodynamics I think it's good, especially because I think that will lead to more overtaking and the rider can make a little more of a difference,” he said.

“The issue of [ride] height devices also changes. I think that the less technical devices a bike has, the more difference the rider can make. And the more technical factors you have, the more it will make you depend on the [engineers].”

“One of the most important things in 2024 was not to suffer injuries”

Marquez didn’t just return to the top step of the MotoGP podium with Gresini Ducati last year, he also completed a season without injury for the first time since 2017.

That had been followed by major shoulder surgeries in the winters of 2018 and 2019, four operations on the right arm fracture from Jerez 2020, two cases of diplopia, a thumb fracture at Portimao 2023 plus several other ‘non surgical’ injuries.

“My physical condition is good,” Marquez said. “At the same time, as you can ask any doctor, after serious injuries it's difficult to reach the same level.

“So that's where you have to work a little harder than before. Try to focus on the weak points that the injuries have left in me with and, from there, try to perform to the maximum to be ready from pre-season.

“One of the most important things in 2024 was not to suffer injuries, although they come when you don’t expect them, but it was essential to have that consistency, that good inertia and to make that physical step that has also been good for me.

“That's what we have this winter for, to strengthen the weak points and start the 2025 season at the highest level.”

Marquez, who was fourth fastest on his factory Ducati debut at November’s Barcelona test, will be back on the GP25 when official pre-season testing begins at Sepang in February.