Marc Marquez’s penultimate race with Honda was a weekend that the Spaniard did not describe as a disaster, despite ultimately only managing to finish eleventh at Losail.
“It was a better weekend than expected, we saved ourselves, but logically in the race, both in the Sprint and this Sunday the pace puts you in your place, and we had no pace. It’s true that on Sunday I wasn’t able to run well, not “I was at my best. Saturday I was strong, but not today, and that made my race a little easier. It wouldn’t have changed the position much, so I went to finish the race to prepare for next weekend”, was the summary by Marc.
Marquez spent much of the race behind Jorge Martin, on whom he had bet for the title for many weekends, but who today saw his race compromised by a defective tyre.
“I ran the whole race behind Martin. At the beginning I saw that he was pushing hard and we were catching up with the group a bit, but then I saw that he started to lose a lot of speed compared to the other Ducati riders. He was suffering when exiting corners , I don’t know what happened to him, but if you lose in acceleration there’s a lack of traction, he didn’t have his usual speed. I didn’t want to fight with him at the end, it wasn’t going to change my life and he could use those few points”, has explained.
Martin said the tires didn’t work and other riders complained that Michelin wasn’t up to par in the MotoGP championship.
“I don’t want to go into details or say what happened, I don’t know. I don’t know what pressure I had, but for me the tires are up to the task, one day it could happen to you, to one or the other. But for but the tires are too good and when one of them goes a little worse, it’s very noticeable. That’s the problem. If they all went a little worse, we wouldn’t notice,” he explained.
Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
Marc Marquez, Repsol Honda Team
“When he passed me and I stayed with him I saw that Jorge didn’t have the pace, many riders passed him, I made an attempt and I couldn’t go either, so I decided to stay behind. Johann was also there Zarco who helped him, it’s normal, he’s his teammate.”
In five days Marquez’s last Grand Prix with Honda will begin after over a decade, an emotional and special moment.
“I will face it trying to control the commitments, because I have seen the programs they have given me and it seems that they don’t understand that I am competing. It is nice that there are many commitments, but what I want is to finish well on the track and, as I did in Qatar, giving everything and more on a circuit like Valencia, which I like.”
The victory in Qatar, among other things, was achieved by Fabio Di Giannantonio’s bike, the one that Marc will take next year.
“I congratulate him, he is bringing out the best in himself when he needs it most. He is talented but it has happened many times in the World Championship, sometimes it is better to be in the right place at the right time than to have talent,” said the driver from Cervera.
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