After a dismal opening trio of races that saw him crash out of Austin, take a long lap penalty and slide to fifth in the standings, reigning MotoGP world champion Marc Marquez has arrived at Jerez de la Frontera with a clear message. The three-week break from Grand Prix action was not spent waiting for Ducati engineers to fix the bike. It was spent putting Marquez back together.
Speaking at the Circuito de Jerez Angel Nieto on Thursday, the Spaniard gave his clearest admission yet that his body, as much as his Desmosedici, had been the limiting factor across Thailand, Brazil and Texas.
"The first three races were difficult inside and outside of track, inside especially because I was suffering to find the way to ride in a good way," Marquez said. "I was fast in some areas of the race in some laps, but not in a constant way. We know the reason, we are trying to work on it, and off track was difficult because to survive with a painful shoulder, it's never easy to arrive here and just try to fake in your face. It's impossible."
Three weekends at home in Cervera, he suggested, have put that right.
"I can say that I'm in a good about physical side and in a good level to perform in the best way possible," Marquez said. "I feel always I try to find my numbers in the gym, and I can say that now I'm in a good level to perform in a good way in the race track."
The 34 points Marquez trails Aprilia's Marco Bezzecchi by may look a modest deficit given how dominantly the Italian has led every single Sunday lap of the season, but the Spaniard is also conscious that the deficit is as much about him as it is about Ducati's under-developed 2026 bike.
"It's true that I'm not performing in a good way the first three races, but I didn't put this extra that a good rider need to put on a manufacturer," he said. "You know, when a manufacturer takes you they are waiting that extra from you, and that is what we will try to do the next races, try to be better and better."
"For me, the people that are saying we need to wait to Jerez, because there are three different tracks with three different layouts, three different rear tyres, and the winner was the same one," Marquez said. "Aprilia, especially with Marco, are the clear favourite ones, and what we need to do is try to work step by step and try to be closer to them."
With Sunday at Jerez sold out and Marquez territory stretching from the grandstands to the pit lane, the weight of expectation returns. But the defending champion, despite being 36 points adrift already, was keen to remind anyone listening that his season is far from over.
"Even with a disaster first three races, we are not very far in the championship," he said. "So let's see step by step if we can increase our level."
Ducati need Marquez to produce that extra on Sunday. The rider himself believes he can finally deliver it.
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*Originally published on [Motorsports Global](https://motorsports.global/article/marquez-draws-his-jerez-line-im-in-a-good-level-to-perform). Visit for full coverage.*
