Marc Marquez had his most difficult weekend of the MotoGP season at the British Grand Prix, finishing fourth in the main race after crashing in the sprint race. The event, which presented substantial challenges for Marquez, resulted in his drop in the championship standings, leaving him fourth behind Enea Bastianini, who won both the sprint and main races.
Neil Hodgson of TNT Sports did not mince words in his opinion of Marquez’s race, stating, as quoted by Crash.net:
“This is the worst weekend we’ve seen him on a Ducati. Inconsistent due to practice, blunders, and crashes. I crashed out of the sprint race. He never appeared relaxed at any stage.
“There were flashes of the old Marquez trying to make up time while braking. He missed the apexes. We observed a couple aerial photos showing the exits. He’d gain on entry, two bike lengths on the way in, and lose five on the way out.
“You know when Marc is having a bad weekend because he rides it like a Honda, and it doesn’t work.”
Despite the defeats, Marquez remained contemplative but hopeful about his own performance and the efforts of his crew. He commented:
“This weekend, honestly, we worked extremely hard with the team, and they did an excellent job. We started with our base, but for whatever reason, which we need to figure out, we were very far along this track.
“Step by step, I felt better. And they provided me everything I needed. They understood perfectly. That meant we were closer to the leaders during the race, particularly in the first ten laps.
“When the tyres failed, notably Bastianini and Jorge Martin, they were extremely fast. However, Pecco was not far. I am pleased with fourth place, but we missed another fourth place in the sprint race yesterday. But it’s okay. We need to keep going.
“I am pleased with fourth place, but we missed another fourth position in the sprint race yesterday. But it’s okay. We need to keep going.
Marquez’s main issues were technical, particularly the bike’s acceleration, which had a significant impact on his race strategy. He continued:
“I knew right away that there was something wrong with the acceleration. We encountered a minor issue there. But we already know why.
“But, yeah, I was struggling with acceleration and came too late to the brakes. As a result, I passed [Espargaro] on Corner 3 and 4. There’s no reason to accelerate.
“Apart from that, the fourth place was a good result.”
Reflecting on the season’s progress at the halfway stage, Marquez concluded:
“It’s not bad. Some errors. Some are to be expected with a new bike, while others, like yesterday’s, should have been prevented. But we are humans.
“I’m having fun with this bike. We consistently rank in the top five. We are consistently the best GP23 bike, and we are close to the ’24 bikes. Let’s see if we can keep going.
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