Alex Marquez has always had good races at Le Mans “even if it’s a circuit that I don’t particularly like”, he explained on Thursday ahead of the French Grand Prix. “But I have always had good races, so we will try to take advantage of it”, he added, thinking above all of the positive momentum he carries with him from the last Jerez Grand Prix, where he came close to the podium, and from the following test, where “we were able to try some proposals from Ducati that we can exploit from now on”, admitted the Gresini Racing rider.
“The problem is that in the Jerez tests things always work, because there is a lot of grip, and Le Mans is also a circuit with a lot of grip, so we’ll see if we can reconfirm everything.”
As one of eight Ducati riders, Alex has access to the telemetry data of all the Italian brand’s riders, and was asked directly if Marc Marquez is already the best of all when it comes to braking.
“Mmmm, yes,” he responded with a nod. “One of the best,” she modified his response. “He has a particular braking style. But that strong point that he had with the Honda and which seemed impossible to replicate with the Ducati, I don’t know how the hell he did it, but now he has it.”
In fact, Gigi Dall’Igna confirms that Marc does things with the front of the Ducati that no one has ever done before.
“And I thought that it couldn’t be done with the Ducati, that you couldn’t get so strong, so fast into the corners. Because it’s a bike that transmits less. The Honda was critical, but you always knew what was happening in front, you understood what was happening with Ducati I didn’t think it would do it but, for the moment, it’s doing it.”
Alex Márquez, Gresini Racing
Photo de: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
At this point Marc became the braking reference for the rest of the Ducati riders. “When you see someone making a difference, you try to focus on that, but that’s what I missed last year, corner entry, and what I missed in Jerez. It’s clear that we have to go in that direction and that’s what we’re focused on.”
Examining the data of the other Ducati riders, Alex highlights a handicap for those who, like him and Marc, ride the 2023 bike.
“Last year what the 2023 bike did could also be done on the 2022, or in any case there wasn’t much difference. This year there is a slightly different trend between the GP23 and the GP24, so we’re not looking to get a lot of feedback or references from those who have this year’s bike, and on some tracks it’s more evident than on others.”
As well as being better at braking, it also seems to be more effective: “It seems to be a slightly more stable bike, the aerodynamics and perhaps the engine have an influence, although I’m sure in some places it’s worse, for sure. But in overall, the 2024 bike package looks better at the moment,” said the Cervera native.
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