He isn’t the top-ranked Ducati rider, but with today’s victory in Barcelona, Alex Marquez is the only rider from Borgo Panigale to have led the Desmosedici GP26 to victory in both the Grand Prix and the Sprint Race.
The feeling isn’t the same as it was at Jerez, and his tone with the press makes it clear that a win in the short race isn’t enough to make people forget the problems. Indeed, during the 12 laps of the Sprint, Alex says he had some real headaches, with a front end prone to locking up and graining. These issues allowed Acosta’s KTM to close in during the final laps, but the Gresini team rider—defying his “Culer” faith ( the nickname for Barcelona fans )— defended himself with a Nereo Rocco-style defensive wall, leaving not even the slightest opening for his rival’s ambitions.
“Already with five laps to go, or maybe when there were three or two left, I could feel someone really close,” the #73 stated. “So I just tried to brake really late, to shut the door. I didn’t even look at how big my lead was on the last lap: I was just trying to do my best, that’s all. But yeah, he was pretty close.”
Were you struggling a lot with the front tyre? Is that why Pedro caught up to you so easily?
“Actually, I think we haven’t found a way to help the bike turn yet. I’m lacking feeling, and in my opinion, we’re going in a direction that causes too much locking up and a lot of spin on the front. That’s why we ended up with graining. This morning we tried something to fix the problem, but we haven’t managed to sort everything out yet. It’ll be hard to try anything in tomorrow’s warm-up, but maybe the medium rear tyre can help us avoid loading the front too much and give us better balance.”
Do you think tomorrow’s race will be about managing the first part? Will no one break away right away?
“No, definitely not. I think it’ll be a really long race, just like last year. We’ll have to stay on pace and just try not to make mistakes. We’ll have to try to go ‘slow,’ so to speak. It’s difficult, but here that’s the right way to finish the race well. I’ll try to do my best, but I’m a bit worried about the front tyre, especially. But I believe in my team, and I’m sure we’ll take a step forward for tomorrow.”
You seem to be the most competitive Ducati rider right now. You’ve even overtaken your brother in the standings, even though he’s at home. How close—or far—do you feel from last year’s sensations?
“At Jerez, I was actually better than last year. Here, unfortunately, because of the temperatures and everything else, I don’t have the same feeling. It depends on the track; it depends on the conditions. And in my opinion, the other manufacturers have also taken a step forward. That’s why, if you have a tough weekend, everything changes: last year at Le Mans we might have been fifth or sixth at best; this year, if we have a bad weekend, we’re tenth. It’s something we have to manage very carefully, without throwing away points like we did at Le Mans.”
How important is today’s victory after the difficult weekend at Le Mans?
“For me, the win at Jerez was more important than today’s. Today is just a small step along the way. But tomorrow there’s still the long race, and that’s where you can score the most points. So, stay calm. Tomorrow we have a great opportunity, but it’s an opportunity we have to make the most of in the right way.”
Do you think you, Pedro, and Diggia will make the same tyre choice tomorrow?
“No one has done many laps with the medium on the rear, but I think the other two guys have it more on their radar. But we might surprise you too.”
You spent some time behind the KTM and also saw the Aprilia up close—what do they do better than Ducati?
“The KTMs have a really great braking point. It’s true that at the start they struggle a bit with rear grip, but then they manage to get a really good pace. It seems like the tyres don’t drop off. We saw that in the last GPs of last year with Pedro too: in the long races, he was able to be really fast. So yes, the progress they’re making is interesting. But Aprilia too, if you’ve seen it, is fast both at the start and at the end. Unfortunately, when you make a mistake in qualifying, the whole weekend seems like a disaster. But they’re super fast here too,” concluded Alex.