A few years ago Marc Marquez would have been in a bad mood for a 4th place finish, but times have changed and he’s delighted with this result after the Misano race. Neither he nor Honda are at their best, but a lion doesn’t hold back even when injured.
“It went better than I thought‘ he admitted. “I thought I was between fifth and seventh place. In the first part of the race I wasn’t that good, but in the end I was strong enough because I was good with my body at the beginning.”
Without forgetting that this is a right-handed stretch, so more critical for his shoulder.
“A fourth place today is more important than a second place in Aragon. It has a greater meaning” he has confirmed. “But my goal is to fight for victory and I’m far from that. With Quartararo, Bagnaia and Bastianini I couldn’t keep up today. I realized that on the one hand I have to improve physically, but also that our bike has some major weaknesses. I don’t want to be the first Honda rider to cross the finish line, I want to fight for the title and for the wins.”
But it’s not time yet, and Marc knows that very well.
“When you find yourself in a difficult situation, you have to understand it and be realistic,” he explained. “You can’t hunt ghosts, but you set goals that you can achieve, otherwise the level of frustration increases. Yesterday I had an idea of my performance and that’s why I’m happy today.”
As he said, to get back to the top he needs to work on himself and on the RC213V.
“That’s how competitions are. We have to keep improving. Sometimes it was Honda that gave me the title and sometimes it was me that gave it to them. We are a team,” he stated. “When I came back, the direction of development wasn’t clear. Now it’s time, and testing on Tuesday and Wednesday will be important. The goal for 2022 is to make sure all Honda riders can fight to to stay in the top ten.”
How do you do it?
“Working on acceleration and corner exit, which are linked,” replied the Spanish champion. “In order to gain time, we now brake too hard, take risks and sometimes crash. I was behind Bastianini in the race. He braked like an animal and came out of corners like a rocket. I think Ducati is more competitive than Yamaha at the moment but Quartararo is the fastest rider.”
He and Bagnaia could become his rivals for the title.
“Pecco already had a strong start in Qatar but he didn’t have the consistency of Quartararo. Many things can change in a year. Just look at the difference in Fabio’s performances between last season and this one.”
Who knows if Bastianini will also be there. Meanwhile, Marc complimented him.
“I saw in Q1 that he was fast,” he recalled. “When he passed me today, I knew straight away that he would have a great chance. I followed him and we caught Quartararo, but I was over the limit and I let him go. He figured out how to ride the Ducati. He doesn’t do anything special, but everything goes well.”
The next stop for Marquez will be Austin, a track he really likes.
“But the second sector is tough, even if you’re physically fit,” he warned. “I’ll go there and try to have fun without starting beaten like in all races. My goal after coming back from the summer break was to be in the top five in all races and I’m able to do that.”