Alex Marquez Nearly Stopped Before Finishing Assen MotoGP 2026

Alex Marquez admitted he was close to retiring from the 2026 Assen MotoGP before a series of late-race incidents convinced him to continue and complete the full 26-lap distance.

The Gresini Racing rider arrived at Assen focused simply on finishing the weekend after withdrawing from the Czech MotoGP following qualifying while attempting an early return from the injuries he sustained in Catalunya. His preparation became even more difficult after crashing at Turn 4 during Friday Practice, suffering significant abrasions to his left arm.

Alex Marquez finished 13th in the Sprint but showed much stronger race pace on Sunday. He spent most of the grand prix following the group containing Pedro Acosta, Marc Marquez and Francesco Bagnaia before both Acosta and Bagnaia retired with separate issues.

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Late in the race, Fabio Di Giannantonio misjudged an overtaking attempt on Marc Marquez at the final chicane. The incident handed Alex Marquez two positions, although Di Giannantonio recovered one of them during the closing laps.

"The first thing is that I finished the race. That was my main goal, to complete all 26 laps, and for me it was really tough. I honestly wasn't expecting to finish the full race. I thought I might go further than Sprint distance and then, depending on my position, I would stop," Alex Marquez said.

Alex Marquez explained that he spent the race carefully managing the soft rear tyre, with the slipstream from the group ahead helping him control tyre temperature and conserve performance. That allowed him to remain competitive for much longer than he had initially expected.

"I tried to survive the whole race without overheating the soft rear tyre. The slipstream from the riders ahead helped me a lot to stay calm and manage the tyre. In the end, I was also fortunate because several riders crashed or suffered technical problems, allowing me to gain a number of positions," he added.

Alex Marquez also admitted the race became significantly harder once Marc Marquez and Di Giannantonio were no longer in front of him. Without their slipstream, he struggled to preserve the rear tyre and eventually ran out of physical strength, leaving him unable to defend against Di Giannantonio on the final lap.

Although he could not keep every position gained during the closing stages, completing the race represented an important milestone after two physically demanding weekends. Finishing the full grand prix provided a positive sign of his recovery ahead of the next MotoGP round.