– With the British Grand Prix at Silverstone, MotoGP returns from the summer break. The world championship is more exciting than ever at this point, as the top five riders are within 24 points of each other.
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After his victory at the Sachsenring, defending champion Marc Marquez (Ducati) is third in the world championship. His deficit to Jorge Martin (Aprilia) is now only 18 points.
Marquez wanted to use the three-week summer break to focus on his right shoulder and arm. However, before the weekend in Silverstone, he admits that the situation has not improved significantly.
“No, I mean, some muscles improve, others don’t. It is what it is. I mean, it just works differently. This is no longer the arm from last year, this is no longer the arm from the first part of this season.”
“It is a different right arm, so I am trying to find a way and the right riding style. To adapt my riding style once again to what my physical condition needs.”
Marquez has won once at Silverstone so far. That was in 2014. Twice he stood on the podium as second and once as third. Statistically, it is therefore not his best track on the calendar.
Of the five riders in the title race, only Marquez and Martin have won a world championship in the premier class so far. For Ai Ogura (Trackhouse-Aprilia), Marco Bezzecchi (Aprilia), and Fabio Di Giannantonio (VR46-Ducati), it would be a first.
After his wins in Hungary, the Czech Republic, and Germany, many again name Marquez as the favorite for the world championship. “I mean, we start again from zero,” he says himself about the championship battle.
“It is true that three riders from this group are fighting for their first MotoGP world title. When you become world champion, it changes your life in the future.”
“My life will not change, whether with another championship or not,” says Marquez, comparing: “But for them, it will. That means they will put a lot of intensity into it.”
So is the pressure on the other riders? “If you ask them, they will say that the favorite is the one with the most world titles. But honestly, I don’t feel any pressure because my ambition has remained the same.”
“I will try, but whether another championship comes or not will not change my future life,” says Marquez. “But for them, it can change.”
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“I mean, it changes your life whether you become MotoGP world champion or not, because if you finish third, nothing changes in life. So they will attack.”
Jorge Martin surprised by championship lead
Since Assen, Martin has been leading the world championship standings, although he has only won one Grand Prix this year. That he is even at the top of the overall standings continues to surprise the 2024 world champion.
“Yes, that’s crazy. I really don’t understand why I am leading the championship. Surely I have done some things really well. I had, I don’t know how many, five podiums, also many sprint podiums.”
“But there were also other races where I was really far back. A few long laps, a few really bad results. But I always finish the races, I always score points, and that’s why I lead.”
“But still, I feel that my opponents are stronger than me at the moment,” says Martin. “So I have to keep improving. That is my goal. If I find my speed, I can fight along. But at the moment I am far away.”
In May, Martin won both the sprint and the Grand Prix in Le Mans, but then the thread broke. Since then, he has only made it to the podium in Mugello and Assen and still took over the championship lead.
“I think after Barcelona we lost direction a bit because I crashed seven times. Of course, you lose some confidence then. We started to change a lot on the bike, and that didn’t help me.”
Nevertheless, Martin believes that lessons have been learned from the mistakes since Barcelona and now he knows better what setup he needs for his Aprilia. Still, he also says that he still feels “new” in the team and has a lot to learn about the bike.
“With my crew chief, Daniele, we spent four years at Pramac. We really knew exactly, if the bike reacts like this, we have to do that. Now, when the bike does something, we sometimes try different things.”
“Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. That’s why we need more days, more information. I would like to have a test, but there isn’t one.”
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“So we have to try many different things on Friday. Or new parts. We use Fridays as a test to try to improve our overall package.” Therefore, despite leading the championship, Martin does not see himself as the favorite. He has stood on the podium once as second at Silverstone so far.
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