Marc Marquez had widely announced before arriving at Mugello that he was ready to experience a weekend all about defense. The Italian track has never been one of his favorites and his last success there was, until now, in 2014. Yet Marc in qualifying was quite simply monstrous, crumbling the record that belonged to Jorge Martín, and then in the race he put on a helluva show. At the start he messed about with the launch control, but he stayed cool and solved it brilliantly, limiting the damage to a few positions lost at the start, recovered in no time.
Marc passed his brother Alex and Bagnaia and then started hammering on his own pace, which was on another planet for everyone today. But the thing that most impressed him apparently was the reception of the crowd at Mugello, historically disinclined to be enthusiastic about Marc. This time it was different.
"I would say that this was the perfect year to win at Mugello," Marc said, "The fans as always can choose their idols, they are free to do so. I just think about doing my job on the track. I think they had a lot of fun today, for the start, for the comeback. At one point we were three in parallel. We were putting on a show and I heard a lot of applause. It was about time. I hope tomorrow to provide more entertainment for everyone."
Did you not expect that you could be so strong here?
"All day today I was surprised. It was a surprise to be so fast in qualifying and then to take that pole. It was also a surprise to run this Sprint and win it, the way it happened. Because I made a mistake at the start with the launch control, I had it on, then I misread the message on the display and removed it. When the light was already on, I saw that by giving the throttle the revs were too high and I realized it was not engaged, so I closed the throttle and engaged it again and got off to a slow start. I would say that could have been a serious mistake that fortunately I was able to disguise. Aside from that, it went well! Although for tomorrow we will have to better understand what to do with the rear tire and especially not to lose points. I know I'm in good shape, but here my main goal is just not to lose points."
What has changed in your approach to Mugello compared to the past?
"Usually this is a track where you have to be very fluid in your riding. My riding style instead is all about braking. Yesterday I tried to be fluid, to keep smooth and clean lines. But in the end I simply asked for a bike that brakes well, then I would take care of the rest."
You seemed calm at the start despite the problem, was that the case?
"I wasn't calm at all, I had a completely instinctive reaction. In those few moments I realized that it would be better to close the throttle, engage the launch control and then lift off even if it was late. Because if I had started without the control engaged, maybe I would have started at the right time, but I would have lost so much speed and here the first corner is far away. I would have lost so many positions. I basically lifted off without even looking at the light, I just heard the other bikes and let off the clutch. I think I started two or three tenths after the others."
On the eve of the race you said you were going to race defensively, but that didn't seem to be the case today.
"Before I started the weekend, I decided to have a certain approach, which was to not lose too many points. And during the weekend, my approach doesn't change. But that doesn't mean I won't try tomorrow, it rather means I want to be realistic. If for some reason tomorrow Pecco and Alex are faster, and they can be tomorrow, I will have to accept that and take points. I tell myself constantly, I know I am in good shape but this is not a track for me to attack on. Today I was able to do it, and if I can tomorrow I will certainly do it."
In some corners you seem to ride the Ducati very differently than the other riders, why is that?
"Yes, in some corners I know I have a very different line from the other Ducati riders. The fact is that in some of the braking I prefer to enter slightly sideways, I feel better even though I know that I lose time in braking that way. But then I make up that time elsewhere."
Alex is continuing to perform at a high level. How has he changed in your opinion from the past?
"Alex is my biggest rival for the title right now, and honestly speaking, fighting with your brother for the world championship is special. But he is also one of those rivals who is always there. It's not about him being in front maybe in a free session and that's it. He's always at the top, he's very consistent. He has finished second in every Sprint Race. That means with him on the track you can't make mistakes. When he came to MotoGP in his first year, he was on the podium twice and he was racing with Honda in HRC. He has a great talent, this year in my opinion as soon as he got on the GP24 something changed again, already in Barcelona he was very fast in testing."
Did he realize that something would change this year?
"Even in Barcelona he knew he could be ahead, he told me right away. And I am proud of him and what he is doing."