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To stop Marquez at Aragón it would take an army manoeuvre and even then, the result would be uncertain. It was predictable that Marc would have been a tough nut to crack, but this time he has outdone himself and the full six tenths ahead of Viñales in qualifying are his calling card.
“Pole position is important, but the pace that I was able to maintain in FP4 is even more so” he remarks, as if no one had noticed.
At this point, what could go wrong tomorrow?
“It seems like it will be cloudy. The temperatures will drop and at this point, the biggest doubt is which front tyre to use. In any case, I feel ready for the race. I had already said on Thursday that this is one of my favourite tracks and that I would be on the offensive.”
But?
“But the best thing about this championship is that every race is unpredictable. One day you can be the fastest and the next you are struggling. However, I am confident because I was able to try all the tyres we have available. The harder options are the ones I prefer.”
So the goal is only to win?
“As always, I will wait until the race to see how I feel in the saddle and what conditions I find. If everything is like today, why shouldn’t I attack? But I haven’t forgotten how things ended in the last two years, with a crash.”
But you have a big advantage…
“The primary objective is to win. The secondary is to finish ahead of Valentino.”
Do you at least see a possible rival?
“Pedrosa will be the most dangerous. He had a good pace and he always gives a little extra in the race.”
The only black spot on the day was the crash this morning…
“I separated my right shoulder, but it does not bother me when I’m riding. Hayden and the stewards were also lucky.”
What happened?
“Usually the yellow flag comes out in the corner before the one where the problem is, but today that did not happen. I checked the video images with race direction. I was overtaking Pol and saw the flags at that moment.”
What did you do?
“I braked harder, trying to slow down and not create any danger, but by doing that I ended up on the ground.”
Was it similar to what happened at Silverstone in 2014 when your bike had hit the stewards who were helping Crutchlow?
“No, because that time it was my mistake, but I don’t make the same mistake twice. Today the problem was that the flags did not come out and when I saw them I was taken by surprise.”
