Marquez attack in turn 1 decides Aragon sprint: “That was my plan!”

– The MotoGP sprint at MotorLand Aragon was already decided after the start in the first corner. Marco Bezzecchi got off the pole position optimally and led into the first corner. But Marc Marquez positioned himself on the inside and braked the Aprilia rider out.

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“When you only have one rider in front of you, it’s easy to attack like this,” says Marc Marquez about this decisive maneuver. “When the rider in front of you brakes, you brake a little later.”

“And if you make mistakes, you have a runoff area. So yes, I mean, it’s risky, of course, but it’s part of racing. If you’re in the middle of the pack, you can’t do such a maneuver. But if you start at the front, yes.”

“When I saw that Marco Bezzecchi started on the soft tire, that was the only chance to attack in the first corner. That’s what I did, it was my plan.”

Bezzecchi, on the other hand, is not sure if his result would have been better than third place if he had kept the lead in the first corner. Therefore, he doubts that this was the decisive race situation for him.

“Well, the lead could certainly have helped. What I know is that my pace today was what it was. So even if I had led, my pace would still have been the same. I think the others were a bit faster.”

“So sure, I should have done the first corner a bit better. But still, I am satisfied with the result because that is important to me. A day like this was good,” the Aprilia rider assesses his third place.

“I enjoyed it. It was tricky, but I enjoyed it. The day’s balance is very, very good for me. Staying so close to the Marquez brothers in Aragon is good for me. Maybe I can get even closer to them.”

Alex Marquez (Gresini-Ducati) also benefited from the maneuver in front of him in corner 1, as Bezzecchi was pushed slightly outward at the corner exit. Alex Marquez had better momentum and passed the Aprilia by corner 2.

“I didn’t expect to be in the middle of this fight because I think Marco was faster than me today, just like Marc,” says Alex Marquez. “But I was lucky in the first corner and got into second place.”

“Then I closed the door for three laps because I knew that was the moment for Marco’s race. Because with the soft tire, he definitely had a big advantage at that moment.”

Soft rear tire was not an option for Ducati

In the front field, only the two Aprilia factory riders chose the soft rear tire, while the Ducati riders opted for the harder medium rear tire. According to Marc Marquez, the soft tire was not an option for Ducati.

“There was no chance for the Ducati riders. All Ducati riders ran on the medium tire because the soft tire is the same as in Silverstone. And this morning we had the same problem as in Silverstone.”

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“So there was no reason to take this risk because if you get this graining, you lose half a second, a second per lap,” says Marc Marquez.

On the other hand, the medium tire was never an option for Bezzecchi for the sprint: “Well, now it’s easy to say the medium would have been better. But honestly, this idea never really crossed my mind.”

“I felt good with the soft tire. I worked well with the soft tire all day, so I was quite convinced. I’m not sure if I could have ridden much better with the medium tire. Honestly, I’m more convinced that it might have been worse.”

Why Alex Marquez couldn’t attack his brother

So the Marquez brothers raced one behind the other from the second corner. Marc Marquez set the fastest race lap in the third lap and thus gained a lead of just under a second.

Alex Marquez could do nothing to close this decisive gap again: “So, when I was really close to Marc, the front tire just had a slightly too high temperature.”

“So I then decided to control this gap to Marc and try to keep the pace a bit safer. I was not able to overtake him because he was faster than me.”

The Gresini rider already lost most of the time in the third sector during Friday practice. However, he could not significantly improve there on Saturday either. But the eleven laps behind his brother were very insightful for Alex Marquez.

“I tried to be a bit more precise, but I lacked confidence in the front tire to brake later in the twelfth corner. So, at this point, I lose,” says Alex Marquez.

“It’s not just the braking point, but also how you get from the twelfth to the fifteenth corner. Tomorrow in the warm-up, I have some homework to do.” Then it will be seen whether he can catch up to his brother.

In the Grand Prix, the Aprilia riders are also expected to choose the medium rear tire. Will Marc Marquez apply the same tactic against Bezzecchi at the start, or can he afford to wait?

“That depends, but the first corner will be important again,” he looks ahead. “Maybe Marco will defend a bit differently. But it’s a corner where I feel strong. A lot depends on the start. Let’s see, I will understand during the race what we can do.”

If Marc Marquez wins on Sunday, it would be his 77th MotoGP victory. This would put him ahead of Valentino Rossi in the statistics of the four-stroke era since 2002, who has won 76 MotoGP races. Of course, Rossi’s statistics in the premier class also include 13 wins in the 500cc class.

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