MotoGP | Marquez: “An 'ancient' fight with Pecco. He has the confidence of a champion”

MotoGP has found Marc Marquez again. The true one. Today the 8-time world champion once again showed off all his talent by achieving a very important second place at the Spanish Grand Prix in Jerez de la Frontera, behind the lone and elusive Francesco Bagnaia.

The fight between Marc and his rival from the official Ducati team was epic and will probably go down in the annals for the back-and-forth battle that set the already boiling Andalusian track on fire – due to the support rather than the climate.

Two shots that were worth the price of the ticket: first Marquez's entry into turn 8, then, a few moments later, the response of the 2-time world champion. The decisive maneuver. Yet in the eyes we were able to see the best Marc Marquez again, the one who was so missed in MotoGP during these years in which he carried the cross in a Repsol Honda HRC team in sharp decline, all seasoned with a weak physical form after the terrible accident that almost cost him his career a few years ago.

“It was a very important race, especially at the beginning. I was a bit stiff due to the last falls and I lost a few positions with a full tank, but I still had the race pace to fight for the victory”, declared Marquez at the end of the race.

“It was a very close battle with Bagnaia (Marc shows the mark on the suit left by the front wheel of the number 1 Ducati, ed.). It's a bit like the old days, that's the beauty of racing. I tried to pass him on the inside, then something happened in the battle, but he was very strong in the final laps.”

“I still tried to follow him to try, but I finished second. It was still a very good race and I'm really happy to be back on the podium after a long time. No matter what happened in the past, I will always fight until the end “.

Returning to the back and forth with Bagnaia, Marquez explained why he decided to immediately attack his rival once he reached the tail of the official Desmosedici GP24.

“I had a lot of fun. Then it ended like it happened years ago, I had a rotation on my suit (he smiles). I had fun on the bike. I like to always be at the top, but in the first laps I wasn't in a good place, I was too stiff, fruit of the falls between Austin and the one yesterday”.

“I made a mistake on the first corner, the 13th. Then I told myself to stay calm and I started to feel better. Then honestly I think we all struggled to overtake because the pressure on the front tire was rising. Then I took Pecco and immediately I tried to overtake him to win, but he defended himself really well. But I'm happy because it's not easy to have a race like this after Austin and yesterday's crash.”

“I honestly thought that Bagnaia would react immediately to my overtaking in Turn 8 because in the end I knew that when I caught him, I would have to overtake him within 2 laps. If you stay more than 2 laps behind a bike, the temperature of the front tire rises and you don't have plus the opportunity to do it. And that's what happened.”

“He did a great lap with 2 laps to go, setting the fastest lap of the race. Francesco has great confidence in the bike, the confidence of a champion.”

This second place, which goes hand in hand with the withdrawal of World Championship leader Jorge Martin, reopens the chase for the title. Marc finds himself 32 points from the top and, although he didn't say the word title, he hinted that he wants to improve even further seeing the top so close, although his start to the season certainly hasn't been the best in terms of results.

“For a while now, at the end of a race, I've believed I can't go any faster than this. However, in the next race I always manage to go a little faster. Surely there will be tracks where we'll struggle more, but I'm going from strength to strength. Then tomorrow we will have an important test to try to understand a couple of aspects.”

“I'm very happy though, because the Gresini team is working very well. Ducati is helping me to try to make me go faster. Let's see. But, although I didn't start the season well due to too many crashes, we're not far from Martin” , concluded the driver from Cervera.