Marc Marquez strikes back in Motegi MotoGP Sprint: “Instinct is my strong point”

Beaten to pole position by title rival Jorge Martin, Marc Marquez struck back with a dominant victory in the Japanese MotoGP Sprint at Motegi.

“Even on the ideal lap Martin is in front of me, so he was faster,” Marquez said of their qualifying battle.

“He was just faster. We know how strong Aprilia is in a single lap, but race pace is where I'm able to be very constant.

“For the sprint, with a small modification we were able to be even faster and more comfortable.”

Crucially, the Ducati star again got the better of an Aprilia rider in the opening corners, cutting underneath Martin through the double-apex Turn 1-2 right-hander.

“As always, if it's riding by instinct, it's my strong point,” he said of knowing when to attack.

“It's true that for Sunday, everybody will learn, and then Sunday is different. But the first [race start] always I have that extra.”

Marquez controlled the race from there, finally breaking clear of Martin with the fastest lap on lap nine of 12.

Two other expected victory contenders fell away for different reasons.

Front-row starter Pedro Acosta was taken out by Alex Marquez on the opening lap, while Martin’s team-mate Marco Bezzecchi struggled to reproduce his searing morning pace as the only frontrunner to choose the medium rear tyre.

“Today, the most ‘dangerous’ [rival] was Martin, because he started in pole, and then Acosta and Bezzecchi,” Marquez confirmed.

“Bezzecchi, I think with the medium struggled a bit more. It’s strange, because this morning he was very fast. But it's just changing a bit the temperature and the tyre changes, the tyre grip is very different. So that’s where we need to understand well [for tomorrow].

“I was there trying to control the race, and at lap 9, I tried to push a bit more to open more the gap, because he was 0.8, 0.9s. I said, ‘Okay, I want to be more relaxed the last three laps’, and we did it well.”

Marquez received an extra post-race boost when Martin, who struggled with rear tyre wear in the closing laps, was demoted from second to third for exceeding track limits on the final lap.

Enea Bastianini received the same penalty after crossing the line third, promoting Marquez’s friend Diogo Moreira to a surprise second place and his first MotoGP Sprint podium.

“Diogo is one of the most talented riders I ever see, riding every different type of bike,” Marquez said.

“So very happy for him, very happy that in his first sprint podium I was there, and happier even that he finished second, and he was between me and Martin!”

Tyre choice for Sunday

The late tyre problems for Martin and Marquez’s Ducati team-mate Pecco Bagnaia, who pitted after losing a section of his rear tyre, leave a major question over Sunday’s choice.

Some riders had considered the soft rear capable of lasting the grand prix distance, while Bezzecchi’s off-pace sixth place on the medium initially appeared to strengthen that case.

But the problems for Martin and Bagnaia could swing the decision back towards the medium for the longer race.

“We need to evaluate well, because using the soft option means more risk, because the medium tyre for the tyre temperature looks a bit better, and maybe that issue that some riders had can be less,” Marquez said.

“But the most important is that today we did the maximum, and tomorrow we need to evaluate which tyre is the best for us.”

Marquez confirmed his own soft rear showed no signs of similar trouble during the Sprint.

“I don't check, but still it was a tyre to ride in ‘43s, so it means tyre consumption was very good.”

Could the hard tyre be made mandatory?

A stiffer construction hard rear tyre, brought as an emergency option for the brand-new asphalt but not used at all so far this weekend, is also available.

There are rumours that, after the Sprint issues, the hard could be made mandatory for the grand prix.

That could be a blow for Marquez and the Ducatis since it's the same tyre they struggled for grip with last time at the Red Bull Ring.

Marquez will start Sunday’s grand prix seven points behind world championship leader Martin.