With changeable conditions usually a major strength of his, day-one of the Emilia-Romagna MotoGP was a relatively subdued one for Marc Marquez who could only manage 14th.
While MotoGP title rivals Fabio Quartararo and Francesco Bagnaia are looking forward to the prospect of 21 Grand Prix in 2022, eight-time world champion Marc Marquez feels that number is already enough, and any more races added would need to see a reduction of others.
Crash.net MotoGP podcast guest Michael Laverty shares his opinions on the two most dominant riders of the MotoGP era; Valentino Rossi and Marc Marquez.
Marc Marquez will start on the front row of a MotoGP grid for the first time in over a year after claiming P3 at COTA; ‘Of course, happy to be in the front row. We know one of our weak points is the qualifying practice, but today we were able to manage it in a good way’.
Marc Marquez says the recently rolled out 2022 prototype Honda has some of the biggest differences he can remember since joining MotoGP; ‘in Misano we tried the 2022 prototype and it was a big difference, one of the biggest differences since I joined Honda’.
Marc Marquez heads to Misano ‘extra motivated’ following his incredible Aragon battle with Francesco Bagnaia. Team-mate Pol Espargaro aiming to ‘show our potential and the potential of the bike’.
Marc Marquez compares Francesco Bagnaia to former rival Andrea Dovizioso following their Aragon MotoGP battle; ‘I fight many times against Dovizioso and Pecco was the same as Dovizioso but with more corner speed’.
Alex Marquez recovered from a 17th place start at the British MotoGP to claim his third consecutive top ten courtesy of finishing eighth; ‘quite happy honestly. Starting from P17 is not always easy, but we chose the soft rear (tyre) which I think was the right choice for us’.
Marc Marquez says the ‘level’ he’s at this weekend is one that needs to continue for the remainder of 2021, with a view to being a title challenger next season; ‘Here we are competitive and we need to keep that level. It makes no sense to be fast at one track, not fast at another.”
Marc Marquez expects ‘many’ riders to be challenging at Silverstone, while Pol Espargaro's sole focus is to ‘fix the problems’ he encountered during the Austrian MotoGP weekend.
Repsol Honda Team Manager, Alberto Puig believes Marc Marquez is close to reaching his full potential after fighting for victory at the Austrian MotoGP before a late crash.
Marc Marquez finds ‘interesting’ improvements as he qualifies fifth for the Austrian MotoGP; ‘sometimes when you try big things you find something interesting and this happened’.
Marc Marquez says Honda and he will need to improve for 2022 if they are to become MotoGP contenders once again, while a personal goal is being ‘as before’ in relation to riding the same way as 2019 and earlier.
Even though he was fast in both dry and wet conditions, Marc Marquez was not entirely happy with day-one at the Styrian MotoGP, as ‘I expected much better’ from physical condition.
A return to full fitness could be close for six-time MotoGP champion Marc Marquez after increasing his training during the summer break; ‘I am feeling better and stronger. I’ve been spending more time on bikes and even returning to riding motocross.”
Marc Marquez believes the five week MotoGP break after Assen will play a big role in his recovery; ‘Summer break will be important for me. Still the arm and the shoulder especially, feels a lot if you stress too much.”
German MotoGP winner Marc Marquez, to use Assen as an opportunity to continue recent improvements - ‘see what’s possible’. Pol Espargaro excited by ‘historic track’ after one year away.
Marc Marquez says a phone call with five-time MotoGP champion with Honda Mick Doohan, ‘helped me’ a lot in difficult times, as the Spaniard tastes victory for the first time since his return.
Marc Marquez overcomes challenging German MotoGP to claim his first win since Valencia 2019; ‘It was hard, was really hard to keep concentrated because of all the memories, all the situations during this last year was there’.