Francesco Mongiardo expressed his opinion on Marc Marquez and how he is facing 2024 in MotoGP with the Gresini Racing Ducati.
In the fourth episode of 2024 of Paddock GP MotoGP with the guest Francesco Mongiardo, rider of the Fantic Cardoso Racing team in the European Moto2 Junior GP Championship, numerous topics were touched on, one of which was Marc Marquez and how he approached this start of the season with the Ducati of the Gresini Racing team and what to expect for the subsequent events.
Francesco Mongiardo and his opinion on Marc Marquez
In the latest episode of Paddock GP, available on our YouTube channel, numerous topics were touched upon Francesco Mongiardo. From the Portuguese MotoGP GP to the Aprilia RS660 Trophy won in 2022, passing through the Moto2 European Championship where he will race in 2024 with the Fantic Cardoso Racing team and focusing on some topics. Among these topics, the one above was explored in depth Marc Marquez. The eight-time world champion is already among the protagonists of the MotoGP, despite the crash with Bagnaia during the race on the Portimao circuit. Mongiardo thus answered the question of his possible victory in the race and what he needs to overcome Bagnaia, Martin and Bastianini.
“I had already made a prediction more or less from the tests, from the interviews he gave during the winter and during the first race that says I’m not aiming for the world championship, but obviously I’m aiming to know the bike well and have fun. Obviously he made this somewhat conservative part to the public which is the truth because he was very calm. We didn’t see him do anything exaggerated, although in Portimao I glimpsed more of his driving style in attacks and strategy. The fact that he doesn’t know Ducati well and that it doesn’t feel perfectly in his hands as he says, as in the end we see it because he doesn’t have this power that he had with Honda in his heyday.” – Francesco Mongiardo
“In my opinion I am now adopting a strategy, to the detriment of the race where there was that inconvenience with Pecco, trying to be a little more conservative and collect as many points as possible and try to make as few mistakes as possible during the Sprints and races. We have seen that, during these two years, in the end between Pecco, Martin, even Quartararo, when they were playing the world championship, in the end many mistakes emerged between them. Last year Martin fell in the most decisive moments. Bagnaia made a few mistakes at the start of the season, like this one here (referring to the Portimao accident). It was a mistake on both sides, though, he threw himself into looking for the intersection a little optimistically. In my opinion he is adopting this strategy of collecting many points and making few mistakes and when the time comes that he understands how to exploit this GP23, in my opinion from mid-season onwards the victory will be a given.” – Francesco Mongiardo
What can El “Cabroncito” do in the second half of the championship?
Marc Marquez is a rider who still needs a few GPs to be 100% confident with the team’s Ducati Gresini Racing. Obviously they expect progress during the season and he is to be considered a candidate for the title if he finds the perfect feeling with the Desmosedici GP23. When asked if Marc Marquez can dominate in the second part of the championship, Francesco Mongiardo he responded thus during the episode of Paddock GP.
“I am of the opinion that when you do 11 years with the same manufacturer, you have a bike that is tailored to you and entirely made for you, because in the end Marquez arrived with the bike that was the best of all and continued because he had a bit of Stoner’s style. The fact of having a bike that responds to everything you want, a team, because in the end it always remains the same for 11 years, you always try to change little. So everything that’s around you and turning everything upside down, it’s not an easy adjustment. In my opinion he is still far from Marc Marquez’s 100% on a Ducati. He still needs a little bit to say, ok I see Marquez that he is doing what he wants.” – Francesco Mongiardo
“You can see it a little from the mistakes. In qualifying that lowering error, you can see that he is not at ease. He moves like an eight-time undisputed world champion talent, but I don’t see him entirely at ease yet, that’s what is known. The fall of the lowerer, the fact of not being so aggressive, of not pushing shows why he is not comfortable with him at the moment and by this I mean someone who comes in and does what he wants with the bike. In my opinion yes, from mid-season if he really gets in tune with the Ducati, I won’t tell you the golden times, those of the times of traverses and rescues because an accident like that already changes your mind a lot, but that’s the talent , that’s the pilot and so in my opinion he will return.” – Francesco Mongiardo
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