‘I feel lucky’ - Marc Marquez’s Austrian MotoGP wrecked by brake issue
Marc Marquez says his Austrian GP was compromised by a brake issue
Marc Marquez says he battled a front brake issue during the MotoGP Austrian Grand Prix, but feels “very lucky” he was able to finish the race.
The Ducati rider was expected to be in the podium battle in Sunday’s 28-lap race at the Red Bull Ring, after making several changes in warm-up to his bike that looked to boost his form.
But the reigning champion was off the pace in the early stages of the grand prix, before running well wide at Turn 1 on lap 10.
He eventually took the chequered flag in fifth, but was over seven seconds from the lead, and has now dropped 12 points on Jorge Martin in the championship.
Marc Marquez says he had pace to battle for second on Sunday, but was battling an “inconsistent” front brake, and even thought he would have to retire at one stage.
“It was not difficult, the P4, or at least fighting for the podium; I think the speed was there,” Marquez told the media.
“We were struggling more than in the other weekends, but we were there.
“But the problem is that in the first part of the race, I had many, many problems with the front brake.
“For that reason, I went wide in Turn 1. The front lever was inconsistent; every brake point was in one way.
“When I had the mistake at Turn 1, the brake was empty; there was nothing there.
“And for that reason, I went super wide. I feel like today we were very lucky, because in one point of the race I thought, ‘OK, I cannot continue’.
“But then, brakes from one lap to the other started to work.
“And then I started to be faster again, gaining some positions. But obviously it was too late.
“The positive thing is that it’s something you can see on data, so they can analyse and try to have some solutions for the future.”
He added: “We had a big issue. For that reason, in the first laps, I was not hard on the brake points.
“I was just trying to understand where the front lever was every brake point, and then I was losing a lot there.
“I feel very lucky because today, the maximum position was second, third, and in the end we finished fifth. So, let’s see.”
