Marc Marquez experienced his second disappointing MotoGP Friday in a row in Barcelona. As was the case at the French Grand Prix, he missed the top ten in training – Marquez finished twelfth – and thus had to start in Q1 on Saturday. In Le Mans, Marquez did not manage to get past 13th place on the grid, but ultimately had a successful weekend with second places in the sprint and Grand Prix.
Marquez did not have high hopes that he would be able to achieve such a turnaround in Barcelona on Friday evening. “The situation is different,” he explained. “In Le Mans we knew where the problem was (Marquez and his Gresini crew had tried a new setup that did not bring the desired success, ed.). We knew that the bike would work again if we switched back to the basic setup. But here we are already using this basic setup, so we have to find out where the problem is.”
Marc Marquez: Fears arrived in Barcelona
Marquez had already suspected in advance that he would have a difficult weekend in Barcelona: “What we wanted to avoid, but also what we expected, has happened. I have difficulties entering corners. That is the area where I simply do not feel 100 percent comfortable. We have not yet found the right balance for the bike.”
Marquez admitted last weekend that fast, long corners are currently his biggest weakness. The Circuit de Catalunya in Barcelona is full of them – combined with the traditionally extremely poor grip conditions on the track, it’s poison for Marquez. “I have a special driving style that works well on most tracks. On other tracks, however, it works less well: in Qatar, here in Barcelona and also in Sepang and, to a lesser extent, in Indonesia. Fortunately, it’s only these three or four out of 20 tracks. In the end, it’s about finding a good way for the whole season.”
Marc Marquez modest: P7 good result
Due to the special and, for him, less than favorable conditions in Barcelona, Marquez is keeping his expectations low on Friday evening. “A lot will depend on qualifying. I now have to go into the ultimate nightmare session of every weekend, Q1. If we manage a good qualifying and maybe end up in row three, then we currently have what it takes to finish fifth, sixth or seventh in the sprint. That’s all! But for me, this is a good result here because it’s simply a special track on which KTM and Aprilia seem to work a little better.”
Q1 will definitely be a tough job for Marquez. He will face Fabio Quartararo, Miguel Oliveira with the Aprilia RS-GP, which was strong in Barcelona, and the VR46 riders Marco Bezzecchi and Fabio Di Giannantonio. Brother Alex, who finished Friday in eleventh place, one place ahead of Marc Marquez, is also one of the riders in Q1. Does this perhaps offer a chance for teamwork between the Gresini stablemates? “It will be difficult,” he fears. “If I help Alex, I’ll probably be eliminated. If he helps me, he’ll probably be eliminated.”
Q1 begins on Saturday at 10:50 a.m., Q2 follows at 11:15 a.m., before the sprint starts at 3 p.m.