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Marc Marquez's racing philosophy continues to cause a certain amount of controversy, and the first day of practice for the French Grand Prix was no exception.
Two crashes, one in each of the sessions, eighth-quickest time, i.e. direct entry into Q2 and a Marc who was happy despite everything: "because I'm not satisfied like the other riders, it's in my DNA".
There is all of Marquez in what he said, basically contemptuous, about "the other riders".
You may or may not like the champion from Cervera, but you don't win eight world titles - six in MotoGP - without having character. And those with character are often not nice. Also because they are not interested in being liked: they are only interested in winning.
So we witnessed his typical day: he tried to suck Bagnaia's slipstream, making the reigning world champion nervous, even if the weather then lent a hand and then when practice was over he came out with a declaration-confession that left everyone taken aback: "at the end of FP2 I was eighth when I passed on the straight, so I pushed to try to improve my time to get into Q2, knowing that if I crashed there would be a yellow flag and the others wouldn't be able to improve" .
On social media, his detractors went berserk over what he said and, of course, it is a difficult declaration to accept. Almost a confession of being willing to do anything to achieve one's goal, but let's stop and think for a moment: he could have not said it. And not reveal his strategy. Instead he did. Nothing new, in our opinion. Marc is not a rider like any other: any one, after his ordeal, would have retired or would have changed.
“How is my hand? - He instead replied ironically to those who asked him - Guys, after what I've been through, what do you want it to be? When I get on the bike, I always give my best”.
So the question we have to ask ourselves is: does MotoGP need a rider like him? The answer is yes. Like F1, it needs Verstappen, also accused of the worst crimes.
The fact is that there are riders who do the minimum indispensable, no offense, and then there's Marc Marquez. Since his crash in Jerez there have been three world champions, Joan Mir, Fabio Quartararo and Pecco Bagnaia. And it is undeniable that all three, if they wish to be remembered in the future, will have to compete with him and beat him in a direct face-off.
If that happens or not, if his Honda will let him, if his latent self-destructive side doesn't take over, we will finally see the Great Duel. Because, let's remember for those with short memories: the last Marc Marquez, that of Jerez 2020, was head and shoulders above his opponents.
Let's not diminish their worth today by stating that the three world champions won in a period without star protagonists. The new Stoners, Rossi, Lorenzo, Pedrosa have not yet been born. And we are not searching for excuses with this. Many winners do not mean a very high level, it just means that at the moment nobody has taken the place of the Legends we mentioned.
