– Marc Marquez was among the fastest riders on the training day for the Austrian Grand Prix, but especially KTM spearhead Pedro Acosta was clearly a step ahead in Spielberg.
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In the qualifying attempt, Marquez missed by two tenths of a second. For him, Acosta is the clear favorite: “Yes, I expect that because it is not the first time that KTM is very fast here.”
“And Pedro brings that certain something extra to KTM. He was already very fast on other tracks, and here he is currently the fastest.” In the world championship standings, Acosta is 65 points behind Marquez.
Nevertheless, the championship leader sees the KTM star as a contender for the world title: “He is in the championship. There are still eight races left. Seven races ago, I was 100 points behind, so he is in the championship.”
Therefore, Marquez wants to take another step forward after the training day to be able to fight for the win with Acosta. Overall, he is satisfied with his work on Friday, but he still lacks something for the Red Bull Ring.
“The feeling is that we worked today. We worked hard, but the most important thing is that from the first to the last run of the day we improved our feeling and our way of riding the motorcycle.”
“Let’s see if we can make another step tomorrow, because at the moment we are not yet ready to fight for the win,” Marquez assesses his situation in the duel with Acosta.
In Spielberg, a special, harder carcass from Michelin is used. This year, this rear tire was used at the start of the season in Thailand and Brazil, where it was warmer than now in September in Austria.
“That’s true,” says Marquez about this tire, “that changing the tire carcass changes the character of the motorcycle. We saw that we suffered a lot from it in Thailand this year.”
“Last year I won [in Spielberg] with this carcass. I know what I am currently missing compared to last year, and we will see if I can make a step in riding style tomorrow.”
Basically, the impression arose that Ducati had a bit more difficulty in the qualifying attempt, but the race pace was better. Marquez confirms this: “Yes, I feel better on used tires.”
“The good thing is that I don’t feel a drop in performance at the moment. But I still have to improve in the fast lap because I always struggle more with this carcass in the qualifying attempt.”
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Martin fears arm pump operation
In the daily results, Ai Ogura (Trackhouse) was the best Aprilia rider on his return after missing two races. In the qualifying attempt, the Japanese rider set the third fastest lap.
Jorge Martin, who is tied on points with Marquez in the world championship standings, finished Friday directly behind his championship rival in fifth place. For the Aprilia factory rider, the most important thing was that he had no arm pump.
“Everything I did during the week worked well, and I feel significantly better,” confirms the Spaniard. “There will still be a question mark until Sunday after the race, but I felt great.”
“I believe it won’t be a problem during the weekend, at least I hope so.” Because only the Grand Prix distance will show whether arm pump occurs or not. That will decide whether Martin needs an operation on his right forearm.
Two weeks after Austria, the overseas tour in Asia begins in Japan. If he were to have surgery immediately after the Spielberg race, would he be fit again by Motegi? “You never know how an operation will turn out,” Martin answers.
“That’s why I’m a little afraid to have surgery because everything can go well and I might be back on the bike after a week. But it can also go badly.”
His concerns stem from the painful 2025 season: “I have no good memories of the past, so I have to be clever and smart with these decisions.”
Bezzecchi has no panic despite ninth place
Marco Bezzecchi did not have an optimal training day. The second Aprilia factory rider barely made the direct Q2 qualification as ninth. The top was not within reach for the Italian on Friday.
“Pedro has been super fast since the morning, and maybe even more in the afternoon,” Bezzecchi assesses the situation. “Jorge and I are quite close. I lose a bit compared to them in the second sector.”
“Apart from Pedro, it is super, super close. Hopefully, we can make a step tomorrow and get closer to him.” A week ago, Bezzecchi was still the fastest man in training in Misano.
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Now this picture has turned at the Red Bull Ring. “There are tracks that perhaps better suit the character of our motorcycle, and tracks where we might struggle a bit more,” says the Italian. “But no panic, after all, it is only Friday. We are working in the garage tonight, and we will talk more tomorrow.”
