“Super talented” Fabio Quartararo “surprised” Marc Marquez in Spanish MotoGP Sprint battle

A short-lived battle with Fabio Quartararo made Marc Marquez “happy” as the Yamaha rider returned to contending for the top positions in the Spanish MotoGP Sprint.

The Monster Energy Yamaha rider denied Marquez a second consecutive Jerez pole position, and ended the Spanish rider’s run of successive poles this season. It was his and Yamaha’s first since the 2022 Indonesian Grand Prix, and Quartararo made the most of it at the start of the Sprint by taking the lead into turn one.

However, he crashed at turn six on lap two, just as Marquez made his move through.

Nonetheless, the short battle between Marquez and Quartararo was a small throwback to the second half of the 2019 season when the two battled on several occasions.

It was something that brought satisfaction for Marquez, who detailed his appreciation for Quartararo’s talent and personality on Saturday afternoon.

“That battle with [Fabio] Quartararo makes me happy,” the Ducati Lenovo Team rider told MotoGP.com after the Sprint at Jerez.

“Of course, unfortunately it didn’t finish in a good way for him, but Quartararo is a name that we need in MotoGP. He’s a super-talented rider with that charisma.

“I was not happy because he beat me in the pole, but it was Fabio and it’s important also for Yamaha.

“In the [Sprint] he surprised me in the first corner; I thought that it was already done, but when you are fighting against a very talented rider [they can] surprise you.

“But then, when I overtook him at turn six, unfortunately we both went a bit wide but on that dirty area he lost the front. I expect again that fight tomorrow, because he’s riding in a very good way.”