He was one of the most anticipated drivers and it certainly cannot be said that he disappointed expectations. In the Sprint of the Qatar Grand Prix, Marc Marquez fought like a lion to achieve the best possible result, which was a fifth place. Not a podium nor even a victory as many believed, but the conditions are more than good.
“I had fun and overtook me on the straight,” he explained to the press at the end of the Lusail Sprint, where at times he even managed to stay in the fight with the leading group. “Fighting with a Ducati is easier because you can overtake on the straight. I still lack three tenths that the others have, like Aleix Espargaro or Jorge Martin.”
There was no shortage of exciting moments, with tussles and overtaking that made us see the “old Marc” again, the one who has no fears and throws himself into the fight: “I made a mistake on the first lap, I got into a tussle with Fabio Di Giannantonio a bit absurd and then I had to push hard to get back to the riders in front.”
Marc Marquez, Gresini Racing
Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
Despite the very good performance put in on Saturday in Qatar, the eight-time world champion is still learning to know the GP23, which requires a different driving style compared to the Honda, to which he has been accustomed for 11 years: “I miss the confidence to go faster, but today I had fun. I went front, then back. It's still early to dream of the podium, it's better to set more realistic goals. I want more, but I can't now.”
“The Ducati is very good, but there are points where you need to know how to ride it and not mistreat it. The problem was tire temperature, the pressure rose. In my mentality, it's a good debut, but we can do much better by winning. I'm where I said, there are three or four riders faster than me. Aleix was the fastest of everyone, I think that for tomorrow he is the favorite if everything goes like today,” concluded Marquez.
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