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Fifth place in yesterday's sprint, and fourth today at the end of the long race, speak of a Marquez with a smile, someone who is back fighting at the top. It is a Marquez who knows that it will still take some time to sharpen his claws on a GP23 which he knows that he has not yet taken to its limits, but it is also a Marquez with his feet on the ground, who is planning the next step without taking any unnecessary risks.
Portimao will be the real baptism of fire, a neutral track where no tests have taken place like in Qatar and the values on the track will be more realistic. Meanwhile, in the race today the Spaniard took some chances, fighting just one step away from the podium and chasing the Ducati of a world championship runner-up like Martin. There was also the duel with KTM's child prodigy Pedro Acosta, from which the eight-time world champion emerged victorious based on experience, but whose undeniable talent he then applauded. The goal therefore remains clear, to chase and learn from the best Ducatis, those of Bagnaia and Martin, and the GP24, according to the Spaniard, doesn't have much to do with it.
Were you looking for a podium?
"I tried - says Marc - the start was good, it was a race based entirely on strategy, especially on tyre management. In my case more the front than the rear. I knew that by pushing to the limit after a few laps I would have problems as the race is very different from a sprint. Maybe I could have gotten closer to Martin but in any case I would have put my name on a fourth place in the first race, if they had told me that in Valencia. Now the important thing is that we scored in the points, from the next race we'll see where we really are, at the moment I'm not getting the most out of this bike."
Why will Portimao be so important?
"This weekend it helped me to have done the tests here, but in Portimao it will be the first real baptism of fire, there we will start from scratch and see how far we are from the official Ducatis. I feel that my feeling on the bike is improving, but for now the goal is to remain fighting in the top four or five positions. From there we will need to find a foothold to gain the little we are missing, at the moment Martin and Pecco are the best and we must learn from them."
Tyre management made the difference today.
"A lot obviously depends on the riding style of the rider, on the bike... but here in Qatar it has always been like that for me with the front, both when I was on the Honda and now with the Ducati, and this year it was no different. The difference is that despite having suffered today we were fast and consistent. It's normal that now with all this aerodynamics the front suffers a lot, and today the management of these dynamics was the strategy that made the difference. If you look at Martin , every time he tried to overtake Binder he then lost ground. For me it was the same with Martin, but in my case there was an extra difficulty because the team doesn't know my riding style well yet, so we were cautious with the pressure, a penalty would have taken us out of the points zone, in my opinion a penalty that is far too harsh. Today the peak was too high for us, but it's something we accept, the rules apply to everyone. So in the last laps I tried to push until the front tyre gave out, at which point I gave up, it wasn't worth the risk of crashing for two or three points, better to finish fourth and be in form for Portimao."
Did the Ducati require a different physical effort than the Honda?
"No, on a physical level with the Ducati it's much easier, when you're fast and the bike doesn't move too much, and then when you gain confidence it's the moment when you can also relax on the circuit. I must admit, however, that I suffered more today compared to yesterday's Sprint, we made a small change to the bike that we thought would help us, so we will have to look for another solution."
Did you have the chance to understand the secret of Martin's speed on the Ducati?
"He's very fast, he had good cornering speed and he braked very hard, he opened the throttle in the right place, but in reality the real difference today was made by Pecco, who was even faster. We finished the race within three seconds, and now we have to understand what to do to improve and get closer to reaching him. He is the favourite for this year and no one knows the Ducati better than him."
How do you explain Pecco and Martin being so fast? Thanks to the GP24?
"No, the truth is that they are two very fast riders. Today Pecco gave us three seconds, one is the reigning world champion, and Martin is the runner-up. Today they were much faster than the other riders and were faster than last year in the second half of the race. I don't think it's just thanks to the GP24, I have my bike and my strengths, and when I signed the contract with Gresini I was well aware of what they would have, at the moment their bike works well and they are riding better than me".
What was the lesson of this first race on a Ducati?
"It was certainly a solid weekend, I tried not to exaggerate or do anything crazy. Obviously the motivation is great and the concentration is very high, but first of all I want to rediscover that passion and that riding pleasure, I want to be able to fight for good positions again, which is what I did this weekend. I had fun and every day I improve my riding style, I think I haven't reached the limits of this bike yet."
Was it the first time in a long time where you had fun on the bike again?
"I certainly suffered a lot today, but I think this applies to everyone. Yesterday I had a lot of fun in the Sprint, today less so. A small change on the bike helped us in some areas but made others worse and I had some difficulties. The team however worked very well, they helped me understand the electronics better and in the race I had to put everything together."
Did you expect Pedro Acosta to be so fast?
"I expected it because he did an excellent Sprint race. Especially when the pace was still not the fastest, I expected him to make some mistakes being a rookie. When he overtook me it was clear that he wasn't preserving the tyres very well, but that’s how you learn. Irrespective of that, last year he won the world championship in Moto2 and he is very fast and has his strengths, in a short time he will be able to fight for the podium."
