Heavy rain greeted MotoGP at Misano for the second of two events scheduled this year. Marc Marquez returns to the Romagna track strong from the triumph he achieved just two weeks ago. If the saying “there’s no two without three” is true, the eight-time world champion could repeat the feat this weekend and take his third success of the season after his victories at Aragon and Misano.
However, the real topic of discussion on the eve of the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix is 2015, brought up by Valentino Rossi in the podcast “Migbabol” moderated by Andrea Migno. Almost ten years after the events that opened a never-ending war between the Doctor and Marc Marquez, the rider from Tavullia has returned to spit venom at his rival, who however seems to remain completely indifferent to the harsh words spent by the man who was his idol for so long.
“The answer is simple: right now I have other more important things in my head than wasting time with statements from another rider,” Marc Marquez began speaking to journalists, including Motorsport.com, on Thursday at Misano. It might be natural to think that behind Rossi’s outburst there could be a psychological game, one of those he played when he was active to annihilate his opponent, but the Gresini rider doesn’t care about this aspect, in addition to believing that it is simply a story and not a strategy: “A psychological game? No, I don’t interpret it that way, first of all because nothing would be achieved. If nothing was achieved in 2016 or 2017, now it’s in the past”.
The indifference shown by the rider from Cervera will not have repercussions on the race weekend, because Marc claims that he will not use this attack as motivation for the simple fact that he is not interested: “It does not give me extra motivation, because I always have maximum motivation. Then you always have to be realistic and understand what you can achieve, but we will do 100% as we have always done. But since I am an active rider, the thing that I least seek and am interested in is entering games like this. My head is focused on the competition. What is Valentino looking for after 10 years? Ask him. I am not interested. I have more important things to think about than these wars that bring me nothing”.
Marc Marquez, Gresini Racing
Photo credit: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
The Gresini rider’s only concern is to improve and work on his weak points to get closer to his rivals, who currently have an edge over him. Therefore, the thought of fighting for the title is only part of the work that Marquez wants to carry forward: “The thought of the title includes finishing the season well, which means fighting with the three leading riders, because I want to include Enea Bastianini. We are closer to reaching the level we are looking for, but we need to perfect some things if we want to fight for the title. Fighting for the world championship starting from scratch is one thing, starting from a disadvantage in terms of points is another, because you can’t make up points from riders who are proving to be superior in terms of consistency”.
“For me, there are no doubts about how to go. I know I have weak points where I have to work,” explained the eight-time world champion, referring to his chances of winning in Misano after having already triumphed two weeks ago. “If on the first lap Pecco or Martin are two or three seconds behind, I won’t catch up because I’m not as fast as them to catch up. There we have to compensate in practice, in qualifying, at the start. These things make you lose championship points, if you really want to fight. For this reason, my duty in these last races is to work on the weak points to be better prepared for 2025.”
Being ready to face the Misano race also means being prepared to be booed. Last Sunday, Marc’s haters did not hold back under the podium, but Bagnaia intervened with a gesture that asked them to stop. “I didn’t see Pecco’s gesture at that moment,” said the Gresini rider. “If anyone can stop this phenomenon, it’s the rider himself. I’ve been saying the same thing for years, you can cheer for one rider or another, it’s competition and it’s normal. If they want to shout Pecco’s name because we’re in Italy, that’s fine for him and for the sport. But it’s not necessary to boo someone else.”
Finally, Marquez commented on the full grid for 2025, which was made official today with the confirmation of Jack Miller at Pramac: “I think the grid is quite balanced, the two brands that are looking for development have not touched the riders because they need to evolve technically. The phrase that is said about riders who arrive and fix the bike or vice versa makes no sense. There are four riders who ride the bike, but it is the technicians who make the bike! Otherwise, if we only look at the riders, KTM should have a missile because it has the best tester who is Dani Pedrosa. Instead it is not like that, the best bike is Ducati, which counts on Michele Pirro, who is a great tester but has not been a great champion”.
#MotoGP #Marquez #Rossis #attack #important
