Home track, racing in front of his fans and great memories: the Aragon Grand Prix represents one of the key events for Marc Marquez, who returns for the third time this season to race in front of his fans, but above all on the track where he was beaten for the first time by Pecco Bagnaia. In 2021, in fact, the reigning world champion achieved his first success in MotoGP after a spectacular duel with the then Honda rider, who this year arrives at MotorLand in a very different situation.
The past has seen him triumph almost everywhere, but the rider from Cervera does not want to live on memories and, in view of the Aragon weekend, he is focusing on the present and the result he can obtain on the Ducati. Can the eight-time world champion aim for his first success with the Desmosedici right on his home track? This is now a question that is asked at the beginning of every weekend and Marc’s answer is always the same.
“I can feel it, but it doesn’t worry me and I don’t want to feel it,” explained the Gresini rider on Thursday in Aragon. The left-handed track could be favorable for the Catalan, but he dispels any illusions. “At the moment this year in the three races where I felt closest they weren’t left-handed tracks. Here tomorrow we will do the free practice and understand where we are. The starting point conditions the weekend a lot and we have to be calm. I am aware that a perfect weekend will give me an opportunity, yes. But it’s not like before, it’s something out of fashion!”
Marc Marquez, Gresini Racing Team
Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
Marquez shows a certain tranquility in not being able to win, despite the fact that more than 1000 days have passed since he last stood on the top step of the podium. It’s been a long time since he tasted this sensation, but the Gresini rider reiterates that he doesn’t feel obsessed by this thought. When victory arrives, it will be tasty but he realizes how complicated it is to beat the first three in front of him, especially because they are equipped with a more advanced bike than his GP23.
“It doesn’t worry me because I know there will be opportunities,” Marc explains of the win. “I’m not obsessed because, after 1,000 days, you don’t feel that way anymore. Jokes aside, I feel competitive, I fight for the podium and I’m close to the riders in front. To win races we need to be in front on Sunday, but we’re always missing something because we don’t have the maximum speed that the others have at the moment.”
Step by step, brick by brick, Marquez rebuilds himself and the road to return to the top step of the podium: “The goal is to continue to have good weekends, feel competitive and feel that adrenaline to fight for podiums and victories. If you don’t feel that nervousness for a long time, you forget and it’s as if you relax. I want to continue with the intensity with which I lived this first part of the season, on some tracks we will suffer more, on others less. But the goal will be to get on the podium, maybe even the first victory. But if it doesn’t happen, the world won’t end”.
The favorite remains Pecco Bagnaia, who arrives in Aragon as the championship leader and is defending his crown from an extremely aggressive Jorge Martin. They are the two contenders and the riders to beat, with the reigning champion having defeated Marquez at MotorLand. However, if the duel between the two were to arise again, Marc would only be happy: “Pecco had defended very well at the time and had used his strong points in a race that he won without being the fastest and that deserves a lot of credit. The victories that I have always considered more are those that I have obtained by suffering, not in a breakaway. Therefore, his victory has even more value. What would I change about that duel? The final result, but if the same thing could happen on Sunday, I would sign now!”
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