Marc Márquez Rim ‘Explosion’ Explained by Tardozzi

For the first time in 88 Grands Prix, Ducati leaves a Sunday without a podium, a streak that had defined the Desmosedici’s era of dominance.

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The Ducati Lenovo Team endured a difficult opening round of the 2026 MotoGP season at the Chang International Circuit, with Marc Márquez forced to retire and Francesco Bagnaia finishing ninth.

The dramatic Thai Grand Prix also marked the end of Ducati’s record-breaking 88 consecutive podium finishes, the first time since the 2021 British Grand Prix that no Desmosedici featured in the Sunday top three.

After starting from the front row, reigning world champion Márquez was battling for the podium until lap 21, when disaster struck. An impact with the kerb at Turn 4 caused deformation of the rear rim, leading to an immediate loss of tyre pressure and forcing him to retire with six laps remaining.

Ducati MotoGP team boss Davide Tardozzi explained the incident: “Unfortunately, he went to the kerb at Turn 4, and he broke the rim. That’s why he lost the air, and he was forced to stop. He hit the edge of the apex and he broke the wheel.

“No, I don’t remember that I’ve ever seen something like that. We could say it was a mistake, but he has been really unlucky because many riders went out in Turn 4 and nobody had this problem.”

Tardozzi described the damage bluntly: “The rim exploded.” A lap later, Joan Mir also retired with a rear tyre issue, underlining the severity of the conditions.

Piero Taramasso noted that rim damage had been observed throughout the Buriram weekend, attributing it to extreme heat and aggressive kerb design.

“We had this problem all weekend, many wheels bent when they returned to our tent because it was very hot,” he explained. “The material is very soft, and the kerbs are very aggressive. For example, the loss of pressure in the front that Jorge Martín suffered yesterday was the same: he hit a kerb, the front wheel bent and deflated.  “Jorge had a slow loss, and Marc lost all the air all at once.”

Martín had initially been investigated for a tyre pressure infringement during Saturday’s Sprint but was later cleared after wheel damage was confirmed.

While Márquez’s race ended prematurely, Bagnaia managed to secure points in ninth place. The Italian gained four positions in the opening laps and briefly moved up to seventh before fading late in the race.

“It was a tough race,” Bagnaia admitted. “I tried to manage the situation from the beginning, without pushing, in order to get to the end with the best possible grip conditions.

“In the final laps, when I got closer to the group ahead of me, I started to feel the drop in grip. This weekend, unlike in testing, I had a hard time getting the bike stopped and making it turn the way I would have liked.

“We need to roll up our sleeves to get back to the front, but I think this race was a bit of a one-off.”