Why Alex Marquez didn't fear a Rossi/Lorenzo repeat in Catalunya MotoGP sprint

Alex Marquez says he wasn’t concerned that Pedro Acosta would overtake him at the final corner of the MotoGP Catalan Grand Prix sprint.

The Gresini rider and KTM’s Pedro Acosta traded places on lap four of 12 in Saturday afternoon’s sprint, with Alex Marquez moving into the lead.

Acosta briefly dropped to third, but rallied in the closing laps to run Marquez down and shadow him by just 0.041s at the chequered flag for the closest finish in sprint history.

The late charge for Acosta led to thoughts that he may attempt a last-corner pass for the win, mirroring Valentino Rossi on Jorge Lorenzo at Barcelona in 2009.

But Marquez has explained why he wasn’t concerned about this.

“I didn’t check the gap on the pitboard, but it’s true I heard a bike quite close [behind me] in the last two laps,” he began.

“So, in the last one I said, ‘Ok, I just need to brake as late as I can and close the doors here at the points that are easy to overtake, and also on the last corner’.

“So, just I was really focused on those points and that’s it.

“I think with these bikes, with this aero, it’s quite difficult [to overtake in the last corner].

“It’s not like in the past, where the first brake point was quite unanticipated.

“Now we brake really deep, and it’s quite difficult to overtake in a clean way.

“Maybe if you just touch the other one, maybe it’s possible, but it’s quite difficult with these bikes.”

Marquez doubts favourite status for Sunday’s Catalan Grand Prix

Marquez qualified third ahead of his victory in the sprint, but doesn’t consider himself favourite to repeat this on Sunday as he is struggling with the front-end of his GP26 Ducati.

“Yeah, on that move, lap four on Turn 1, I was in that moment faster than him,” he added on his sprint.

“But maybe I pushed a little bit too hard in that point, and later on in the end I was suffering, especially with the front tyre.

“I always had a closing feeling and not turning. But anyway, all the weekend I’ve been suffering in that point.

“Still, I don’t have the flowing area and the turning that I want from the bike, and especially we are using the front tyre too much.

“So, for tomorrow, we need to fight something to fight for the race. If not, we will need to be smart and just score the maximum points.”

Asked is he is favourite, he replied: “Not with the feeling that I have.

“Still, I think the favourite for tomorrow is Pedro, clearly, because he finished the sprint in a really good way, with a really good front tyre life.

“So, just, we need to find something for tomorrow to be better on the front and just try to help the bike a bit more on the turning area.”