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Marc Marquez picked up in Thailand where he left off in Australia, namely from first position. The Team Gresini rider was in fact the fastest rider on Friday at the Buriram track, where he soared high in the second practice session by setting a new track record lap.
"Everyone is pushing hard here and trying to do their best. Both Martin and Bagnaia are raising the bar, but Bastianini and I also have our own personal battle and, for my part, I'm risking a lot to try to be there with them. Obviously I'm happy, because it's important to start the weekend like this. I have a good pace, although not the fastest as in Australia, because I think Martin is faster than me and when Bastianini is fast on Friday then he will be fast all weekend. We'll see what we can do. But the realistic goal for tomorrow is to try to be on the second row," the Spanish rider commented at the end of the day.
Despite the excellent start, Marc expects his rivals to come back later in the weekend.
"I have the advantage of going well and being fast right away, but one step at a time the others are also coming. Bastianini for example struggles at the beginning and then goes up again. In the first part of the season I struggled on Friday and then improved a lot on Friday. Now, on the other hand, I am more ready on Fridays, I ride well and I have a good base, so it will be difficult to improve the time I did in practice, because it is already a record lap. I would sign now to still be able to lap in 1'29"1," he noted, "It's clear that the better you feel and the faster you go, the more you are in front and the fewer mistakes you make, because you have the speed and the ability to handle situations. I'm still missing a little something to try to be at a better level, though. That's what we're looking for and that's the hardest thing to find."
While he has little room for improvement, the eight-time champion is clear on where he should try to shave down his times.
"The areas where I lose the most right now are the first and second sectors. Especially on the straight, because the GP23 loses there and then makes up for it in the corners. But tomorrow we will use a fresh engine and see if we can be a little bit faster," he said, also stating that everything is okay on the brake front: "We are working on the brakes. Ducati has done a great job and is trying to fix them. We are also working together with Brembo for the future and, for the moment, everything is working well on this track. We'll see how it goes tomorrow in the race, with the slipstreams and other riders in front."
With a quota of three wins after his success in the Australian GP, the Ducati rider will have his first opportunity in Thailand to tie the number of victories Bastianini won with Team Gresini in 2022.
"Obviously the more wins the better, but it' s an irrelevant fact, which is only remembered now because I'm here to challenge him. Four wins are definitely better than three, but the important thing is to continue with the consistency I'm showing. Since Austria, I've taken a step forward that I'm confirming at all circuits," he commented, "With that base, we've been on three different tracks and we haven't had to touch practically anything except a few details. That gets you off to a much better start on Friday, allowing you to focus on working and studying the tires, whereas before you were struggling to get into Q2."
Third in the World Championship with three races to go, in his first year riding a Desmosedici last season, doesn't the eldest of the Marquez brothers regret not leaving Honda sooner?
"No. I have achieved so much together with them and I feel part of Honda," replied the Spaniard. "This year I am riding a Ducati, I will be one of their riders next season as well and I will certainly try to defend the Ducati colors, but Honda has been and will always be an important part of my career. Maybe the most important, you never know. I went to Ducati because I wanted to ride the best bike, and in the future, when I retire, I will be comfortable with myself, because I have tried them all. Of course, when you make moves like that you put a lot of pressure on yourself and you can get a lot of negative comments if you don't get results, but I achieved what I wanted. The intention was to feel competitive again. If I then win another title it will be one more thing, but I have already achieved my main goal."
Indeed, Marc believes it is impossible for him to try to get back into the fight for the World Championship by pushing the two title contenders to the limit: "It's impossible. There are two riders, if there was only one ... but with two, if I ride like I did today, I think there's more chance of me making a mistake than them."
Finally, the 31-year-old provided an opinion on the pit lane incident between Zonta van den Goorbergh and Tony Arbolino, which cost both riders a penalty.
"Of course, no one wants to do this kind of thing, but it seems that he got a little bit distracted," remarked Marquez speaking of van den Goorbergh, "It is also true that it is very difficult to calculate everything, because he felt that he was slower than when he was on the track and he saw that the other bike was there, but he approached it very quickly because the other one was going at 5 mph. It was a really unfortunate but very dangerous situation, and even if it was not intentional, it was still to be sanctioned, because contacts like that are very dangerous for both riders and the marshal."
