Alex Marquez: “Small reset” but “we don't need to panic”
Alex Marquez insists there is “no panic” despite recent results, as he looks to rebound at the Catalunya MotoGP.
After standing on a MotoGP Sprint and/or Grand Prix podium at all of the opening twelve rounds, Alex Marquez has managed just one appearance in the last six races.
That included a “weekend to forget” in Hungary, where the Gresini Ducati rider finished eighth in the Sprint and 14th in the Grand Prix.
Nonetheless, while brother Marc’s title lead has now soared to 175 points, ongoing struggles for Francesco Bagnaia mean Alex has only lost 12 points to the factory Ducati rider over the last three events.
He therefore heads to Barcelona next weekend with a 52-point cushion over the double champion in the battle for second. Aprilia’s Marco Bezzecchi is currently 83 points adrift.
“We don't need to panic, just make a small reset and come back,” said Alex Marquez, who won the Spanish Grand Prix and Silverstone Sprint earlier this season and has 16 runner-up finishes.
“I'm sure that Barcelona is better for our riding style, but first of all we need to recover a little bit the speed that maybe we lost this weekend.
“But for the rest, no panic.
“These ups and downs can happen during a long year. We need to recover our level and make a solid result in Barcelona that will help us for our championship.”
Alex Marquez rues "weekend to forget with many mistakes"
Comparing his situation to Bagnaia - who also claimed his most recent Grand Prix podium before the summer break in Germany - Alex highlighted how recent hopes have been dented by penalties and incidents.
“I think it's quite a different situation. [Bagnaia] struggled a lot during practice. We were quite okay in the practice,” he said at Balaton Park.
“I think our situation is a matter of circumstances.”
That includes a long lap in Austria then a three-place grid drop, followed by an early crash, in Hungary (pictured).
“Just a weekend to forget, with many mistakes," he added.
“I'm the first one to think this weekend I was also not on the level, so we need to keep improving at stop-go tracks that are not made for me.
“We need to be complete if we want to fight for good things in the future. So we need to be also fast on these types of tracks. We just need to learn from the situation.
“But for the rest, we need to stay calm, take it easy and go to Catalonia with positive vibes.”
Alex inflicted a rare team-mate defeat on Marc with fifth place in last year’s Barcelona (Solidarity) MotoGP Sprint.
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Peter has been in the paddock for 20 years and has seen Valentino Rossi come and go. He is at the forefront of the Suzuki exit story and Marc Marquez’s injury issues.
