Marc Marquez Wheel Failure: Ducati Explains Thailand MotoGP Crash & Michelin Concerns

Marc Márquez suffered a wheel failure during the MotoGP Grand Prix of Thailand on Sunday, forcing his retirement from the race on lap 21, Ducati Team Manager Davide Tardozzi confirmed. The incident occurred after Márquez’s rear wheel impacted a kerb at Turn 4 of the Buriram circuit.

“Unfortunately, he hit the kerb in Turn 4, and the rim broke,” Tardozzi told TNT Sport. “That’s why Marc lost control and had to stop. Hitting the edge of the turn and the wheel breaking.”

The incident caps a challenging weekend for Márquez, who received a penalty during the sprint race and finished fourth in the main race. He had been attempting to challenge Raul Fernandez of Trackhouse Aprilia for a podium position before the wheel failure.

Piero Taramasso, head of Michelin, noted that wheel damage had been observed throughout the weekend in Buriram, attributing it to the high temperatures and the nature of the kerbs. “We had this problem all weekend, many wheels were bent when they came back to the tent because it was very hot,” Taramasso explained. “The material is very soft, and the kerbs are aggressive. For example, Martin’s loss of pressure at the front was exactly the same: he hit the kerb, then the front wheel was bent and deflated. Jorge was losing air slowly, while Marc lost all the air at once.”

The race saw a strong performance from Aprilia, with Marco Bezzecchi of Aprilia Racing taking first place and Raul Fernandez securing third. Pedro Acosta of KTM finished second. Fabio Di Giannantonio of Pertamina Enduro VR46 was the highest-placed Ducati rider, finishing more than 15 seconds behind Bezzecchi.

The result ended a streak of 88 consecutive podium finishes for Ducati, and marked the first race since the 2021 British Grand Prix where a Ducati Desmosedici did not feature in the top three.

According to reports from February 26, 2026, Marc Marquez entered the 2026 season as a strong favorite to continue his success, having secured a seventh world championship in 2025. The 2026 season began with the Grand Prix of Thailand at Buriram on March 1st.