The best among Ducatisti
Third Sprint race of the season and second podium for Marc Marquez who in ‘his’ Austin, where many times he was uncatchable on the Honda, continued his apprenticeship with the Ducati. Exactly as in Portugal the eight-time world champion was the best among the riders from the Borgo Panigale company in the mini-race on Saturday, preceding Jorge Martin and being beaten only by Maverick Viñales’ Aprilia.
“During the race I had problems that I didn’t have during practice – explained the #93 to the microphones of Sky Sport MotoGP, after the race – and this made me make a lot of mistakes, especially in the first sector. Until I understood how to do it, I wanted to stay calm, but instead I had many moments where I almost fell. I was biding my time when Acosta passed me. That was the moment I started pushing, without exaggerating, and achieved the best time“.
Podium goal, not victory
The Texan track has always enhanced Marquez’s riding characteristics, yet in view of tomorrow’s GP the Gresini team representative would be ‘satisfied’ with signing his first official podium as a ducatista, possibly even giving up victory: “Viñales is going very strong – warned Marquez – And I would sign for third place tomorrow. It will be a long race, there are Viñales, Martin, Bagnaia and Bastianiani. These riders are fast and have good pace, so getting to the podium is difficult. Otherwise I have to aim for the top-5. Even if we are in America we are not in a position to fight for victory“.
Pre-tactic to play ‘hide and seek’ or real lack of confidence in the Desmosedici GP23? Maybe both are true. For Marquez in any case the adaptation process to the new bike is not yet completed: “Every weekend we’re figuring something out – commented – in this we changed the set-up because we were struggling on Friday. We have taken a step and we also want to understand if it will also go well in Jerez. I’m still missing something, but now I’m starting to block the front and push more on the rear tire. I’m starting to understand how to do the flying lap and this helps to have a good weekend“.
