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Marc Marquez cashes in 12 points and another win, his eighth since the start of the season, and he does so in the sprint at Jerez, friendly ground.The treasured lead in the standings over his brother Alex, the first of the pursuers, goes up to 20. The sun shines on the circuit named after Nieto, the fans rejoice and so do the two Marquez brothers. The only blemish, perhaps, was that pole missed by a whisker. Barely three hundredths, snatched by a diabolical Fabio Quartararo who even 'dared' to challenge the King by crossing his trajectories in the first corners of frenetic action. The Spanish track would betray him a short time later, leaving the way clear for the championship leader.
On the lack of spectacle Marquez shrugged his shoulders, "it's not my fault," he jokingly admits to reporters, after all , "it's the job of my opponents to worry about that," he will later say with a hint of irony, but perhaps that's the point, because winning is nice, but winning by fighting is even nicer, for someone who has faced many duels in the past, and perhaps now he is beginning to miss them. Not that MotoGP is easy for Marc Marquez, mind you, and he himself points this out. The expectations placed on him are a constant that is also difficult for the Spaniard to manage, although compared to 2013 he now has all the maturity to do so. Then he also had a word of praise for the Spanish fans, "they know how to pay homage to motorcycle racing," and the thought, we imagine, perhaps went back in time, resting on those whistles of Misano that caused so much controversy.
"Yesterday's performance was not optimal, something was missing," the Spaniard began, "so we went back a little to the base we used in the first races, the sensations improved and today we had confirmation of that. In the race, although the higher temperatures made everything more difficult, I felt more comfortable. For the race, the plan was to start immediately in the lead. Today we got twelve valuable points, but most of all I really wanted to celebrate and know what it feels like to do that after a sprint at Nieto and Peluqui corner. That was the thing I was waiting for the most and that's what motorcycle racing is all about. I really liked it because they yelled Márquez, they yelled Alex's name, he is also a Márquez but they called him Álex and me Márquez (smiles), but they also celebrated Pecco. That's one of the things I like about Spanish fans, here in Jerez they know how to pay homage to motorcycle racing."
The sprints are supposed to provide more entertainment, but that was not the case today, you are a showman so does that worry you?
"No, I'm happy, it's my opponents who have to worry about that," he continues jokingly, " hey have to try to put me in a crisis and I know they will succeed, not every sprint will be like this one. We must not forget that we are now in Europe, this means tighter tracks and difficulty in overtaking. Today I overtook Fabio but it was a Yamaha, doing it with a Ducati would have been more difficult. The lack of spectacle is not my fault," the Spaniard smiled.
Speaking of the Frenchman, did you expect a fight?
"I did not expect that first corner from Fabio, but we are talking about Quartararo, he has great talent. He surprised you as he surprised me at the first corner because I thought I had already taken the lead of the race, instead he came back on the attack with a braking on the limit. Then I noticed I was faster and passed him again, but it was good to be back fighting with him once again. I am happy for him and for the championship, we need to have names like Quartararo in front, and also of the other brands, even if they race against Ducati. We will continue to work to always have the best bike, but also having more variety is nice and I think it helps the championship a lot."
The podium here last year was a sigh of relief, today what emotions do you feel after this success?
"Emotions in a Spanish race weekend are one of the hardest things to keep under control, especially right now. It looks easy from the outside, everyone expected a win today, another one tomorrow, everyone expects an incredible Marc, but it's not easy. I'm human, we saw that in Austin, everyone can make mistakes. For me the important thing is that I gained another small lead in the standings, which gives me a chance to still be there should I make another mistake."
And compared to your first Spanish podium in MotoGP in 2013?
"Definitely my emotions are more under control. I was only 20 years old when I arrived here with Honda after the victory in Austin, my emotions suffered many more ups and downs. But when you are on the bike the emotions are the same, you are there and you push."
Today in qualifying you received a fine for that incident at the exit of the pitlane.
"To be honest, my brother was slightly ahead and I was watching him, warming up then I noticed the red flag and the traffic light and stopped. I think he didn't notice it instead. Exiting the pitlane first is not an advantage in itself, but it is important to avoid yellow flags. Yesterday I was 4th because of a yellow flag so today I tried to exit first, I did it on the second exit as well."
Did you have problems with vibration?
"Some small vibration was there but only in some corners, it's something related to braking, but if you have an advantage from your opponents you can keep it under control because you know in which corners the problem will occur. I figured out how to handle this as long as I have a gap to exploit."
What are your expectations for tomorrow's race?
"For tomorrow, it will be important to figure out where we are with the rear medium. The track changes a lot from morning to afternoon with those extra 20 degrees of temperature on the track, that will be the key. Obviously among my opponents I see the three Ducatis, but also Quartararo, although he says he doesn't have it, has a very good pace. Alex with the medium yesterday was the fastest, as for Pecco then, he always takes a step on Sunday, so it will be tough."
