MotoGP | Marquez: “Today I suffered more, but I enjoyed it”

Combative, aggressive, solid and… In front. In Qatar we saw the Marc Marquez we were used to knowing but had lost sight of in recent years with Honda. Team Gresini's debut with the Ducati took place in yesterday's Sprint, however today's race was a different story, which the eight-time world champion told by making him dream for a moment of the first podium of the season.

This dream did not come true, but the brawl involved and the final fourth position are an excellent starting point, especially if you consider that Lusail is not one of the Catalan's favorite tracks. What was most important for Marquez was not so much the result but the sensations on the track: “I finally had fun! Today I suffered more, to tell the truth, but I think it was the same for everyone. Yesterday I had a lot of fun, but today was more pain than fun. We made a small change on the bike which helped in some areas, but was worse in others and I struggled with the bike.”

“But the team did a great job, they helped me understand the electronics and all these things,” he explained in the usual meeting with journalists at the end of the race. “We analyzed many things to try to manage the start and today it went better. It helped a lot in the race, I was able to manage the tyres. However, I need to improve my driving style in some places because I still don't drive well. But today the race was solid, I attacked in the last eight laps and then at that moment I ran out of front tyre. In the last two laps I saw that there was a possibility of crashing and I preferred to finish fourth and wait for Portimao.”

The Portuguese Grand Prix will be an important test for Marquez, who will have to test himself with the Ducati on a track unknown to him. In fact, he arrived in Qatar on the strength of the work done in the tests: “Portimao will be important because in the tests in Malaysia and Qatar I needed time to set good times. The fact that we had the tests here in Lusail helped me this weekend. In Portugal we will start from scratch, there we will have to understand where we are. Apart from that, I have to improve step by step. There will come a point where there will be a wall and you will have to find a hole, a space to find a few tenths. At the moment however, I have to learn from Bagnaia and Martin, who were faster than me today. Is it the GP24? No, they are the fastest, one is the world champion, the other is the vice. I don't think it's just the GP24, I have my bike, my things and when I signed the contract with Ducati I knew what I would have. The bike works well and that's it.”

“The first Grand Prix for Ducati, of course, was a solid weekend, like the one I had in the pre-season. Solid days, trying not to overdo it, not to make mistakes, to be calm in all situations, not to do the crazy one. As I said on Thursday, the expectations are very high, but I continue with my style. This year I want to be patient, I want to have fun again, I want to fight for the top five positions and that's what I did this weekend. But yes, I had fun. Every day I improve my riding style, every day I change some things that help me a little. However, I think I haven't reached the limit of the bike”, declared Marquez.

Finally, a note on tire pressure, a hot topic for some time now: “I won't complain because with all the aerodynamics we have now, it's normal. If you see Martin, he would take Binder, he would go out; he took Binder and left. Me too with Martin. When I got it I slowed down because the tire temperature, even my team didn't know my driving style and we went in a safe way because if you get a penalty you're out of the points because it's a pretty strong penalty, too much. But today, for me, the increase in temperature and pressure was too high but acceptable. The rule is the same for everyone, so I have to work on my riding style and we have to manage ourselves.”