– Jorge Martin (Aprilia) and Marc Marquez (Ducati) engaged in a close duel at the start of the sprint at the Red Bull Ring in Austria, allowing Pedro Acosta (KTM) to take the lead after three corners.
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Initially, Martin, who had secured pole position just ahead of Marquez and Acosta in qualifying, got through at the start and entered the first corner as the leader. At the corner exit, he went too wide and drove over the painted area.
This allowed Marquez to attack at the chicane, corner 2. He positioned himself alongside Martin and passed the Aprilia. As a result, Martin did not have an optimal line through the chicane and lost several places.
“I think there was nothing I could do at all,” Martin reflects on this situation in the chicane. “I got the first corner well, in the second corner I braked extremely hard to hold the position.”
“And yet I already heard a red missile coming up. The most important thing is that I did not lose the position and did not go wide – I was basically able to hold the line.”
“At the change of direction, I almost crashed, and that was exactly when I started losing places. But that’s racing. I hope that tomorrow I act a bit smarter and better recognize where overtaking opportunities arise.”
Did Martin find Marquez’s maneuver acceptable? “I knew he would try it, as he always does. So I was prepared for everything and was able to stay on the bike – that counts.”
Marquez’s plan at the start: Attack in the chicane
For Marquez, it was clear that he could not launch an attack in corner 1 at the Red Bull Ring like he did at MotorLand Aragon and Misano, because according to his assessment, that would not work on this track.
“I already thought that an attack in corner 1 would not be a good idea. You can use the runoff area there, and I told myself: If I attack, they will move into the runoff area, and then everything is for nothing.”
“That’s why I prepared the attack for corner 2,” says Marquez about his tactic. He was able to overtake Martin in the chicane, but the maneuver cost him the lead to Acosta already in corner 3.
“Because I attacked in corner 2A, I came out of 2B extremely slowly. As a result, I braked too late for corner 3 and suddenly saw a motorcycle appear. I didn’t even know who it was, but he was simply faster than me.”
“My goal was clear anyway: I wanted to finish directly behind Jorge because Pedro and Jorge were faster than me. It was mainly about not letting another motorcycle get in between.”
Incredible comeback by Martin with revenge against Marquez
Martin fell back to eighth place due to the situation with Marquez in the chicane, but the Aprilia rider overtook one rider after another. After six laps, he was already fourth behind his teammate Marco Bezzecchi.
After overtaking him, Martin needed only one more lap to overtake Marquez in corner 1. “Catching up to Marc after maybe six, seven, or eight laps, closing the gap, and overtaking him was simply great.”
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“Yes, I had this absolute hunger to be fast, and today I put all my talent on the line,” Martin raves about his comeback.
“I have certainly had many good sprints, but today, where the pace between, say, Marc, Pedro, and me was extremely similar, to fight back from eighth place and overtake Marc again …”
“The thing is: If you overtake Marc like any other rider, he immediately counters you. So you have to brake the bike a bit harder and make sure you get a good corner exit.”
“That’s exactly what I did,” says Martin, “not only against him but also against Alex and Marco. Nowadays, in MotoGP and especially on this track, it is essential to secure a clean line for acceleration.”
Could Martin have beaten Acosta?
When Martin had worked his way up to second place, his gap to Acosta was about two and a half seconds. Three laps before the finish, Acosta crashed in the chicane, clearing the way for Martin to his 20th sprint victory.
Could Martin have beaten Acosta if the first lap had gone a bit cleaner? “We will never know,” answers the Aprilia rider to this question. “Pedro was extremely strong.”
“I think he will go all out tomorrow to get his first win, that’s for sure. I calculate my chances, but it will definitely be a completely different fight.”
“I will try to be consistent and fast. If the first lap goes more clearly, I can certainly perform even stronger.” With the win, Martin took over the championship lead again, three points ahead of Marquez.
Why Marquez is struggling in Spielberg
Compared to Acosta and Martin, the reigning world champion lacked some speed. When Marquez was behind Martin at the end, he saw where he has deficits in Spielberg: “He was simply faster, basically a bit everywhere.”
“We are just struggling,” says Marquez. “We had big problems in Thailand and we are struggling here again. We know that it is a different carcass [on the rear tire], but it is the same for everyone.”
“The tires work well, but we have to understand exactly how to better cope with this carcass. In Thailand, all Ducati riders and I suffered enormously. It is repeating here. So we have to keep working on it.”
According to Marquez, the carcass is the only reason why things are more difficult for him than recently in Aragon and Misano: “For me, yes, because compared to the past races, we have hardly changed anything on the bike.”
“I was fast, but all Ducatis were also extremely strong, and here since the first practice all Ducatis have more problems than usual. That’s all.”
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