English
Italiano
Whether it’s true, or just a way to scare the competition, we’ll probably find out in Qatar next week, or even during the opening GP of the World Championship scheduled on the same track for the weekend of March 8th to10th. In light of what happened during the Sepang tests, Ducati Team Manager Davide Tardozzi didn’t want to compromise himself, arguing that Marc Marquez may have played hide-and-seek so as not to immediately show his cards to his rivals.
Tardozzi stated on the Crashnet website: “He’s an eight-time world champion. One of the greatest in history. I think he’s taking the time he needs to figure out how to ride the bike to its fullest. So, he hasn’t shown us what he really is, yet. And it’s clear that his chances are higher than those we saw in Malaysia.”
However, the Italian manager isn’t the only one who had the same feeling by observing the rider from Spain in action during the three days in Malaysia. Former New Zealand rider and commentator, Simon Crafar, also said he was convinced that the former Honda rider is being strategic.
“He worked very methodically, getting in lots of laps, even when the others were in the garage. He did everything he had to, and I think he’ll show his stuff in Losail,” he said, commenting on the 30-year-old’s first approach with the Gresini team’s Desmosedici, with which he finished 9th, 14th and, finally, 6th, slowed down only by some technical setbacks. Incisive in the Sprint Race simulations, as much as in the kilometers he covered, Crafar thinks Marc simply played around with his opponents when it came to setting a time, to the extent that the Dorna commentator and former rider, winner of the Donington GP in 1998, pointed out how Marc went wide, always at the same corner, as if he wanted to hide.
