Marc Marquez admits: "Can’t make a difference"

– “A podium, yes, fighting for the podium, but not for the victory,” is Marc Marquez’s conclusion after the United States Grand Prix at his favorite track, the Circuit of The Americas, where he has already won seven times.

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From sixth on the grid, the Ducati factory rider was fifth after the first lap and quickly fell back to seventh position. In the fourth lap, Marquez served his long-lap penalty, which he had received for the accident with Fabio Di Giannantonio in the sprint.

After that, he was eleventh. “The problem is that in today’s MotoGP it is practically impossible when you ride in turbulent air. You unintentionally ride a second slower, and I knew I would come out in the middle of the pack,” says Marquez.

“Especially because penalties are always noticeable in the first laps, that’s where you lose the most, which is why it’s a penalty. But well, I rode my own race, although we didn’t have the pace to win anyway.”

The first race laps are causing difficulties for the reigning world champion this year. This was already evident at the first two race weekends in Thailand and Brazil. The reasons for this are partly technical and partly physical in nature.

“What’s missing is myself, not the bike,” he emphasizes, “but in the first laps the bike becomes more aggressive with new tires. I can’t ride the way I want to at the moment. You have to use more strength in the first laps, and that’s exactly where I lack that strength.”

“I just have to let those laps pass. After that, I find my rhythm. If you look closely: all my fast laps in the race came from lap six, seven, eight, nine, ten – when the tire starts to drop off.”

“I need to understand well how I can improve the first laps. I don’t feel comfortable on the bike. It looks like I’m getting used to a position that isn’t a natural position on the bike, and then I just ride along like that.”

“I’m still fast, but I can’t make a difference.” As the race progressed, Marquez worked his way through the field and finished fifth after a close duel with KTM rider Enea Bastianini.

Team manager Tardozzi assesses the Marquez situation

Ducati team manager Davide Tardozzi also explained to Sky Italy that his race pace improved after the initial phase: “In my opinion, the analysis is that Marc is not one hundred percent fit.”

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“Today I’m focusing on the middle part of the race, when he overtook Raul Fernandez and latched onto ‘Pecco’ and Bastianini. In those, I think, five or six laps, he made up eight tenths of a second on Bezzecchi.”

“So when he feels good, he is able to ride part of the race like a number one. I am sure he is not [physically] okay,” said Tardozzi. “Unfortunately, the crash in Indonesia last year still has after-effects because he hasn’t fully recovered yet.”

“And what happened on Friday at the start of practice naturally exacerbated the problem, but the crash in Indonesia is still haunting him.” When Marquez returned to the pits after the Grand Prix, he rubbed his right shoulder under his leathers.

Marquez: “100 percent level different after injury”

From the practice crash on Friday morning, he wore a bandage on his right forearm as well as on his left wrist, where he had suffered abrasions. Already on Friday afternoon, Marquez pointed out that he would “struggle” for the rest of the weekend.

After the Grand Prix, he says: “I hit my right arm hard, of course, which is why the forearm is so swollen, and that didn’t help. It takes strength. We’ll see if we can make further progress during the three-week break.”

And regarding his right shoulder, which he injured last autumn in Indonesia in the accident with Marco Bezzecchi, Marquez says: “This isn’t really a new phase. It’s not about whether it’s fast or not. It’s about finding a new 100 percent level.”

“After an injury, the 100 percent level is always different.” After the three overseas races, the reigning world champion is fifth in the World Championship standings. His gap to serial winner Bezzecchi is 36 World Championship points.

“Bezzecchi is obviously in incredible form. He has proven it. At the moment he is unstoppable,” says Marquez about the competition with Aprilia. “Above all, we need to understand why they make this step specifically on Sundays.”

“On Saturdays we are able to fight or at least stay closer, but on Sundays it’s really the case that they are very consistent and very fast.” And how can Ducati react? “It’s a combination. I believe if you also take a small step forward with the bike, you gain confidence and are automatically much faster,” says Marquez.

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