You are here

MotoGP, Marquez: fans remember the guy who wins the title not each race

"But I can allow myself a mistake, while my rivals can't". Lorenzo: "I repeat, Rossi's pass was aggressive"

Marquez: fans remember the guy who wins the title not each race

Share


The question that many are asking on the eve of the Aragon GP is, will Marc Marquez continue to make cautious races or, at his home race, will his throw caution to the wind and be back on the attack?

This is a fundamental element in terms of the championship because, with a 43-point lead over Rossi and 61 over Lorenzo, it's clear that if he continues to make controlled races, it will be hard to take this third MotoGP title away from him.

"The reality is that we always want to finish first, but sometimes it's not possible, like at Misano - explained Marc Marquez - I finished 4th there, having finished the front tyre and Dani helped me by winning because he took points away from my rival. At Aragon, one of my favourite circuits, my minimum goal is to finish on the podium. There are only five races left and while, mid-season, I may have thought winning two would be enough, now I have my doubts. This year you never know what might happen with the tyres and new electronics. You can win with a 10-second lead or lose, finishing 10 seconds behind. We need to be consistent anyway and aim to always finish top three".

Magic Marc leaves little room for interpretation. And for those who still have their doubts, he himself dispels them

"It's not important if someone has more race wins than me by the end of the championship. People remember the guy who won the title, not the guy who won the most races or scored the most podiums. So my mentality is this: if I have to finish 4th like I did at Misano, then I will, but I'll try to win, if possible, like I did at Silverstone. The point is that I have make a mistake, I can still fight for the title, while my rivals can't".

Clear enough? Rossi surely has his work cut out for him.

"Up until now, the season's been incredible - observes Valentino - no-one expected to see eight different winners. Last year the same riders would win each week. For the championship, this is more interesting, because it means that if the conditions change, different riders can stand out, but this is another reason to always be up there. My second half of the season hasn't been bad. I've made up for some mistakes, scored some podiums, but have made up only a few points. But I have to continue like this, because we're working well. Last year at Aragon I struggled, but then made a good race with Pedrosa, even if I lost out to him. This year, it's difficult to understand where we can win, particularly with the Michelins. So the important thing is to always be in the podium zone, and then try to reach the highest step of the rostrum, but it's difficult to say where we can do that. At this track, the Yamaha suffers through the tight, slow corners which penalise acceleration, but in terms of corner speed and through the fast turns it's OK. We also suffer a little with the hardest braking points. As I've said, this year is totally different because of the tyres".

Valentino is not beaten yet though, and it's too soon to change his goal.

"Second place in the championship is a lot less important than winning it. Even winning a lot of races is less important than the title. For this reason, I have to try and achieve both goals".

Lorenzo, on the contrary, seems to believe it's no longer possible to defend his title.

"Coming second in the championship is better than third, and third is better than fourth, so I'm aiming for second of course. Here, in 2014, I won in strange conditions and repeated that again last year. I'm curious to see how it will go".

Yamaha also cannot hope that, further down the line, Jorge will help Rossi. But this was already clear. The relationship between the pair has deteriorated and the Majorcan confirms this when he repeats what he said at Misano regarding his team-mate's pass during that race.

"I continue to see it the same way, actually even more so - he insists - From the bike I couldn't see his line but I saw it in the video. And I stick by my opinion".

So will Marquez, Rossi and Lorenzo be the protagonists in the Aragon race? Perhaps yes, but without forgetting the man who won the most recent Misano race: Dani Pedrosa.

"It was a great feeling to win after so long - admitted Marc's team-mate - It gives you confidence but now I have to stay focused because it would be great to score another similar result. One of my problems this year has been qualifying and we don't know why".

Yes, remember Pedrosa's starts? They used to be phenomenal. And by winning, Dani would be playing on the same side as Honda and his team-mate, taking important points off the table.

Translated by Heather Watson
__

Related articles