Marc Marquez: ‘We had to break one record this year!’
That’s despite the Repsol Honda rider missing three of the 18 rounds held so far, due to injuries, and withdrawing from two other Sunday races.
"We had to break one record this year!” Marquez joked. “It's the falls, which is not the best feeling, but it means we are trying.
"Even knowing that we have only a few races left [at Honda] I continue to push. It shows my commitment to the brand, to continue giving 100% on the track.”
Underlining the critical nature of the RC213V, team-mate Joan Mir - who has also been sidelined due to injuries - is second on the season crash list with 23 falls, meaning a combined total of 50 by the Repsol Honda duo.
The accident list only counts falls during grand prix weekends and not official test sessions. Two more race weekends remain.
After his 27th fall in the Saturday Sprint, Marquez played it safe as he rode to 13th place and three points in the grand prix.
“It has been a difficult Sunday to end a complicated weekend, really it all came from qualifying on Saturday,” said Marquez, who became embroiled in some tow antics with Franco Morbidelli in qualifying before then sliding off while trying to pass Augusto Fernandez.
“From 20th [on the grid] is always difficult and my feeling with the bike was similar to what it was in the Sprint race.
“Yesterday I pushed and crashed, today I managed everything and was able to at least get some points.
“We have another tough race coming up in Qatar [this weekend] where we can try and improve our situation and results.
"Let’s keep on going and get ready for the next one.”
Mir, like LCR Honda’s Takaaki Nakagami, crashed in the main race.
"The summary of our weekend is that I am still working, I am still pushing, and I am not giving up – that’s why I crashed," said Mir.
"Today I was able to be close to Marc and fight with him for a bit but the pressure with the front tyre was very high.
"We gain under braking but in the hot conditions like Malaysia you have to manage everything.
"It’s nice to fight with Marc, in another year that would have been fighting for the podium! We try again in one week.”
