Marc Marquez did not end badly at all in a MotoGP Thai Grand Prix which was already going better than expected, after a Sprint in which he had finished in fourth position. The driver from Cervera placed sixth on Sunday, in a long race in which he went on the attack in the first half, getting involved in several spectacular battles.
After a good start, the #93 managed to join the leading group. A group in which he had a close battle with Pecco Bagnaia, who was fighting to climb back on his way to second place, and also with Aleix Espargaro, repeating the fight already experienced on Saturday, and with Fabio Quartararo.
In the end, the Frenchman beat the eight-time world champion and Marquez crossed the finish line in seventh place, although after the race he gained a position due to a 3″ penalty imposed on Espargaro for a lower pressure reading to those indicated by Michelin.
Speaking to the media after the race, the Spaniard explained why he had such a challenging start to the race and once again admitted that he had fun on the Honda.
“At the beginning I was fighting, but little by little we regained our rhythm. More than attacking, I defended myself. The objective was to attack, because if I hadn’t done so, they would have passed me on the straight. The best defense it’s the attack, to position yourself well in the group,” he explained.
Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
Marc Marquez, Repsol Honda Team
As regards the strategy, Marquez decided in this case not to take risks and to start with the most tire option recommended by all the riders, the medium in front and the hard in the rear, after having run the risk of racing with the soft last week in Australia.
However, he saw that the medium rear tire, the softest for this Grand Prix, ended up working on the Ducati of his brother, Alex Marquez, the only one to have risked it.
“It was a better weekend than I expected. In the race I hesitated to use the soft rear tyre, but I decided to play the same cards as the others. I saw that my brother was on the soft rear and it was the best thing. the important thing is that we finished and that we had a consistent race. And that, for a few laps, we fought”, he explained.
Finally, Marc commented on the title fight between Jorge Martín and Pecco Bagnaia, now separated by only 13 points: “Jorge and Pecco are on the same bike, on equal terms,” he said of both riders, who ride the GP23 which he will use in 2024 for Gresini Racing.
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