MotoGP | Marquez: “The rescue? I developed the anti-fall system on the Ducati”

The Friday of the Indonesian Grand Prix left us with one certainty: the Ducatis are the bikes to beat. The Desmosedicis have monopolized the top 5, but the GP24 reigns supreme, with the top four making the difference with the most updated version. Those who have the GP23 are once again forced to chase, and this is the case of Marc Marquez, who on a track that is not very congenial to him still managed to find a square by taking direct Q2.

Seventh at the end of the decisive tests on Friday afternoon, the eight-time world champion underlined how not only this year’s Ducatis are a step forward, but that he is also paying the price for Marco Bezzecchi, fifth on his own bike. The difficulties on this track are noticeable and the Gresini driver makes no secret of it: “It’s a track where I’ve struggled a lot in the past. I thought it would cost me less to adapt this year, but I struggled more than on other tracks.”

“The GP24s in front? Not just them, I also had Marco Bezzecchi’s GP23. I have a pretty weak spot in T2 that is costing me more than normal. I’m losing a lot, but above all I’m not able to take advantage of the new tyre. From used to new I take away two tenths, while the other Ducatis take away almost four or five. I will try to improve this point to be closer to the GP24s, but once again I am ahead of everyone, especially Enea Bastianini and Jorge Martin”, explains the driver from Cervera.

The difficulties encountered on Friday in Mandalika were also clear from the maneuver we saw him make: in the afternoon practice, Marquez was the author of an incredible save like we saw him do a few years ago on the Honda. A sign that he has returned to being the Marc we all know, it’s true. But also a symptom of difficulty, as he himself confirms: “I think the rescue is the image of the day. I haven’t done one like this in a long time! As many people said at the time, in Honda I had an anti-crash system and now they have fitted it on the Ducati (laughs, ed). Now the special system I had before has been developed by Ducati and is starting to work,” he says, continuing the joke, before turning serious again. “As I said when I was with Honda, these saves are spectacular, but they are also a sign of the fact that I am uncomfortable”.

At the end of the session, Pecco Bagnaia found himself in difficulty, running out of petrol and forced to ask for help to return to the pits. Marc Marquez himself came across his path and the two future teammates traveled the track side by side, with the Gresini rider allowing the reigning champion to hold onto his bike to proceed. The image aroused smiles also because the platform was not used (which is usually the simplest support in these cases), but Pecco was holding onto Marc’s arm or his front fairing, making the scene funny.

“Pecco ran out of gas in front of me and I saw him raise his hand, so I helped him,” explains Marquez. “I understand that it’s a particular image because he’s my future teammate and everything. But when you cross the finish line, the rivalry takes a backseat and, if you can help someone not to stay still in the middle of the track in the heat, you help them. I was looking for the platform from the start, which is the easiest thing, but he didn’t take his foot off. We didn’t understand each other well.”