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Marc Marquez triumphed at Rio Hondo capping off his second consecutive perfect weekend, another full score that sides with those at Ducati in that fateful Mugello weekend who bet on him for their future. The Spaniard thus took his 90th GP victory, equaling the record of Angel Nieto, "the one who opened the doors to Spanish motorcycle racing," thus consigning to history another piece of his career, once again on the rise after the dark period of injury.
There are those who say that it is still a Marc Marquez minus something, and those who say, perhaps with good reason, that this Marc Marquez has instead achieved something different, for himself more than for the news. After all, he says it himself, "I have the peace of mind of not having to prove anything," and perhaps that is the secret that is making him so fearsome to his opponents so early in the season. Except perhaps for his brother Alex, the only rider at the moment who is able to stand up to him, a fraternal and no-holds-barred challenge, albeit with mutual respect, but one from which at the moment his older brother continues to emerge victorious.
"I'm really happy, it's a great honor to equal Angel Nieto's record," Marc began , "he has been incredibly important to the world of Spanish motorcycle racing, what motorcycles are, what the world championship is, Angel Nieto showed us by opening the doors. But today I was also really impressed with Alex, he rode cleanly and was very fast with a lot of cornering speed. When I saw that his rear tyre was not smoking I knew he was on another level today."
The championship has just started but the battle with Alex continues.
"There were some moments today when I said to myself, 'OK, second place is enough', but then in the second from half of the race with the used tyre I saw that I was making up ground and I started to attack. I struggled behind Alex, I couldn't find a point where I could overtake him, the only one was at turn 5. Here in Argentina it is difficult to overtake and when it's your brother maybe even more so. As soon as you get off the line the asphalt is dirty and the front starts to close, so the first braking at 5 was too optimistic, there I realized that to make that overtake you needed the right line. The first attempt was not the best but the second one was better. In the end I managed to win, but as you saw I took a lot of risks at some points, maybe too much, but I am happy to end another weekend with full points. It was another perfect weekend for Ducati, although we had to do some extra work with the team because I didn't feel comfortable right away at the beginning, we suffered a little bit but we did it the right way and brought the result home. The atmosphere in the Ducati box was incredible, we did a great job, and the same I can say about the atmosphere in the family."
You faced quite a risk in Turn 11.
"In that turn I had already had moments during the weekend, but in the race the risk was even bigger. There I told myself that I had to change my riding style and I did it a little bit, because one of my strengths is corner entry and today I couldn't take full advantage of it with the medium rear. I tried to change riding style and survive, and in the end with used tyres the feeling improved."
Here in Argentina it was similar to last weekend in Thailand, where you found yourself chasing Alex for part of the race.
"Today it was not in the plan to be behind Alex, initially I was planning to lead the whole race. Even before the race, there is great sincerity between me and Alex. I told him that I would take the lead and if he was behind me, I would attack around lap 14. He would do the same, and so he did, he implemented the same strategy as me. The most important thing is that there is this sincerity between us. I know he will win races this season, more than one! As he will be happy for my wins I will be happy for his."
Alex seemed to have something more in some areas, how much difference is there between your bikes?
"The two bikes are very close, if I have any advantage maybe it's a little bit of speed, but Alex is riding amazingly in these last two races. Grip or no grip, the difference is all in the riding style, each following their own way. This weekend I had a little more difficulty. Seeing myself again on the screens I saw myself as stiff, although then the time came. Today in the race, however, things improved."
Where do you think you had that extra edge to fight with your brother Alex?
"Today I think he had a setup centered more on corner speed and bike handling, while I focused more on where I could brake hard, which is one of my strengths. So that was my advantage today and even behind Alex I could brake well, but he was really nimble. Every lap I kept thinking about Turn 6, because it is a left-hand corner and I was telling myself that it was impossible that he could be faster than me there, but he was! - continued the Spaniard jokingly - I tried different trajectories, different positions on the bike but every lap he was faster than me. Of course, he was faster in other places too, but for the whole race that corner was my nail in which I was trying to improve."
As an older brother you feel you have to win.
"No, not always! - he laughs - past 22 we are on a par. Today I was really impressed with his riding style, super smooth. I am really happy for him and I know that when he is feeling confident he is able to win a world championship. Like he did in Moto3 and in Moto2, so right now he is the main opponent for the championship."
Now to talent you have added a management ability that maybe you didn't have before. Are we in front of the best Marc ever?
"Now I have this peace of mind that I don't have to prove anything. I take what comes, if I struggle more in a round it doesn't matter, if I make a mistake I get over it. This tranquility allows me to ride well, but above all I also feel good with the team, we are a factory team but I don't feel that pressure typical of factory teams and this helps me feel good."
The crowd present here at Rio Hondo has been very vocal, do you think we should return to Argentina again next year?
"I don't know if we will come back, but I hope so. In MotoGP we have to focus on opening our doors to the world, not remaining limited to Europe and Asia, because America and South America are also important. I think for the future we are working in that direction, we have to try to have more circuits on this side of the world and open the sport even more to the fans."
Next stop Austin, a circuit you know all too well, should your opponents be worried?
"Calm down, for now let's just relax and enjoy the end of this race weekend. In Austin we will get there."
