Marquez seeks positives from ‘difficult’ race, first fall in year

Marc Marquez refused to be overly downcast in the wake of his first race crash in over a year, with the Spaniard pointing to his championship advantage – still relatively intact – and the fairly unique track conditions as reasons to remain upbeat.

The 25-year old was engulfed in a frenetic five-rider fight for the lead in the early laps, but was helpless as his front tyre gave way as he braked for the downhill Correntaio hairpin the third time around. Although able to remount, Marquez could place no higher than 16that the flag.

A trying weekend was at odds with a private test here three weeks ago. Then, riders were greeted by low track temperatures, and Marquez prospered. On Sunday, the surface was bubbling hot, boasting more than 50 degrees temperature. And Michelin’s tyre allocation didn’t help his cause.

“Difficult,” began Marquez, now 23 points clear at the head of the championship. “Many times yesterday I said this was a race to take points and to finish and I knew that before the start. it was one year that I did not crash in the race and also one year that Michelin didn't bring these tyres and allocation. We tried to change the bike a lot this weekend to work a lot with the front tyre and I tried to manage.

“The medium, that for me is normal from the standard allocation, was impossible to finish the race. I was trying to manage with the hard front but I arrived to Turn 10 and tried to save it…but it was impossible. Apart from that – and that we were struggling a lot – we were able to have the pace and this is something we need to consider for the future and we are still 23 points in front.”

Could he have saved the fall? “Today I tried to save the crash and to be quite ‘powerful’ to pick up the bike but it was impossible because it was downhill and the grip was not so good and I was still losing the front by the time I got to the gravel. Apart from that I was OK at the start and I was trying to push a lot in the first two laps because Jorge and the guys with the soft tyre were there.”

Marquez’s first crash out of a race in 2018 was not the only news that grabbed the headlines on Sunday. Old foe Jorge Lorenzo scorched a path to his first win in Ducati colours, romping to victory six seconds clear of team-mate Andrea Dovizioso.

Did Marquez think a victory challenge would have been possible, had he stayed on? The Catalan was in little doubt. “No,” came the reply. “[A] Podium [was] possible because after the crash the bike was not perfect and I was still at a good pace, similar to the podium guys but Lorenzo today was faster than everybody and he managed the situation a lot. We tried but it was impossible.

“The podium was the goal but riding alone later I nearly crashed ten times. This race is one to forget because the tyre allocation was so special for us; and that is not an excuse because for everybody it was the same but it’s something with Honda and my riding style we stress even more.”

So what does the reigning world champion take away from this weekend? “From this race I learned, well, I don't want to take much information! In the morning I had a perfect bike and in the afternoon it was totally different. I still need to be able to manage all the things and improve for the future but I learned I cannot crash again.

“It is something I already know but we are humans and sometimes we make mistakes. it is one year since I crash in a race [so I’m] disappointed but what is important is that we are 23 points ahead in the championship and we were 37 back last year.”