English
Italiano
It seemed to be Marc Marquez's day, but he too fell into the Jerez trap. He had taken his first pole position on the Ducati in the morning (and, as a twist of fate, the 93rd of his career) and was leading the Sprint in the afternoon when he was betrayed by a patch of wet asphalt. "I was closer to victory than in Austin, but still not close enough ," he spreads his arms wide, " I was only four laps away from finishing a perfect day, but for me it remains positive: I took pole position, I realized I was strong in the wet and in the Sprint I was the fastest. Unfortunately I was not able to finish the race, I had done the hardest part and fell in the easiest part. Like most of the riders, I got on a wet patch and lost the front. The good thing is that I am getting closer and closer, I had a 50 percent chance of winning and I was unlucky."
You couldn't see it?
"I didn't notice it was there for the whole race. On that lap I braked a little earlier and went faster into the corner, maybe I only went 10 centimeters out of my usual line, I don't even know if inside or outside, I wasn't over the limit. Anyway, after the crash I managed to restart and finished 7th (he will be 6th after Quartararo's penalty ed), even though I had destroyed all the wings on one side and the bike was pulling to one side."
How come so many crashes in the last laps?
"Westarted the race turning quite slow, then we pushed harder and harder, the tires wore out and it was more difficult to make tight lines, like in turns 5 and 9, where I crashed. Also, the patches were impossible to see, you had to go by instinct."
Did you get angry about that mistake?
"I realized in Austin that I am quite strong mentally.In the first 2 GPs I tried to be consistent and calm, from Texas I increased the risks and when you get close to the limit you can fall. Now you have to find more consistency, without losing speed. People can say what they want, but I have my plans and I am happy because I am fast, not being fast was what worried me at the beginning of the season. The good thing, is that this season I have never crashed because I was over the limit, but because of external conditions."
You also featured in a contact with Mir.
"It was exactly the same situation I had with Binder: Brad overtook me, I saw it and raised the bike again. I tried to pass Mir without being aggressive, but he let off the brakes and we touched. It was my mistake, but sometimes you have to understand the situation. I could have gone inside him too, but I knew we would touch and I would lose positions. Mir tried to hang on, I didn't let off the brakes enough to pass him completely and I took a penalty. It was a good penalty for the Stewards, but it was easy to get Oliveira past and then put me back in front on the last lap (laughs)."
Martin says he will be stronger tomorrow in the long race on the medium tire, how about you?
"It will be a question mark for everyone. I think the grip will be better and we have to figure out what we can do with that tire, it's very consistent, but one of the important things is the start and the first few laps. However, of the riders who start in the first positions, Martin is the strongest."
Will you aim for victory tomorrow?
"After two consecutive crashes, I don't think that can be the goal. If I get a good start and everything goes right, we'll see if I can be on the podium.I would sign now to be there."
Pedrosa is 3rd after Quartararo's penalty. What do you think?
"It's a shame for him because he couldn't be on the podium. He would have liked to see his audience in front of him, but I congratulate him."
