MotoGP, Marquez: The crash? I was faster than my potential

The qualifiers ended in disappointment for Marc Marquez. The Honda rider, after having been fast straight away after his first flying lap, then wound up on the ground with about five minutes to go in the session. So, for him there was no chance to get back in the saddle and have a go at pole position, settling in the end for the fifth best time, just over three tenths behind the leader (+0.328).

It is a crash that Marc explains with his desire to take pole position, despite the fact that his feeling on the Honda was less than perfect: “It was my mistake; I was going faster than I felt comfortable going - number 93 comes straight to the point - but I was trying for pole position.”
In any case, he will start from the fifth spot on the grid, a position that does not worry him. The biggest unknown, on the other hand, will be the tyre choice for the race. The rain on Friday did not make life easy for Marc: “The rain yesterday made things difficult and figuring out the best tyre for the race will not be simple. In FP3 I was fast - he adds - but I did not feel entirely at ease with the bike. We worked on the setup in the afternoon, but we did not find the settings we wanted. In any case, with the changes we made, things improved a bit. Now I am able to maintain a good pace more easily. For the race, however, the tyres remain the biggest unknown for the 23 laps that await us - especially the rear.”

He still has the warmup session to try to do better: “All the riders will improve. New settings will be tried and we must absolutely put the pieces of the puzzle together”. For tomorrow, Marquez sees the Yamaha starting from pole position as the favourite: “Right now Maverick is looking good for the race. He is on pole and he is fast. It will be important to start well and to be cautious in the opening laps to understand the asphalt better. In any case, we will make an effort to improve. Today I was fast, but I did not feel comfortable” he concluded.