Marc Marquez: “I put my cards on the table, Bezzecchi’s reply was amazing!”

Marc Marquez credited local hero Marco Bezzecchi for putting up a relentless challenge in Sunday’s San Marino MotoGP.

Determined to make amends for his Saturday error, and feeling the home pressure from Ducati, Marquez settled into second place behind Sprint winner Bezzecchi.

When Bezzecchi ran wide on lap 12 of 27, gifting Marquez the lead, it looked like his eleventh Grand Prix victory of the season was assured.

“When I took the lead, I tried to control the race. It's not necessary to push on the limit for 27 laps,” Marquez said. “I was there, with a good rhythm in the ‘31 middle-high, just trying to understand the limit of the track.

“In the middle of the race, I did three mistakes in a row at turn 11, touching the green. Then I touched another time, and for a fifth I would have had a long lap. So I was extra careful, but even like this, I was riding in a good way.”

"I put all my cards on the table"

But when Marquez upped his pace to break Bezzecchi’s challenge, the Aprilia rider responded. The pair slugged it out with new fastest laps, as the Italian kept pressure on the eight-time world champion.

“The last laps are when I put everything, all my cards on the table. But the reply from Marco was amazing!” Marquez admitted.

“I was coming with a fast lap - because I saw the lap time on my dashboard - but then I passed on the main straight and he was still only 0.5-0.4s behind.”

Marquez held firm to take the chequered flag just half-a-second ahead of the Italian.

“Marco was a super tough opponent and congrats to him because even being faster than ever in the last laps, he replied in a very good way,” Marquez said.

“But today I had a special fire inside of me. After yesterday’s mistake - always I try to reply in the best way possible. And the best reply was to win the race.”

Marquez celebrated in front of what has often been a hostile Misano crowd by holding his leathers up to the fans from the podium, mimicking a famous celebration by footballer Lionel Messi.

“I always say that Messi was a reference; he let his football do the talking. I'm talking by riding bikes. It’s the best way, and yeah, I felt it was time to celebrate.”

"Amazing" title chance in Japan

Now 182 points ahead of Alex, who was a distant third on Sunday, Marc will be crowned champion in the forthcoming Japanese MotoGP if he scores just three points more than his brother over the Motegi weekend.

“It’s something amazing. It still seems unreal, but I don't want to lose the concentration,” he said of being so close to a title he has been chasing since 2019.

“I just want to keep the same level. It's true that it looks like a matter of time. But be calm, I want to keep it pushing and finish the season in the best way possible.”

Marquez also denied that winning the world championship in front of his former employer, Honda, would have any extra significance.

“I have a huge respect to Honda, so it doesn't matter if I celebrate in Japan or Indonesia,” he said. “It's not something special to win it in Japan.

“For me it was much more special to win here in Italy because I feel the pressure of Ducati. This weekend I feel the pressure of Tardozzi! I feel the pressure of all of them.

“It was the first time that Tardozzi yesterday said ‘give everything’ - and I crashed! Today he said, ‘Okay, everything but slow down a bit!’ So yeah, happy because together with Ducati we won both Italian GPs this year.”