“What we wanted to avoid happened”

The Gresini rider finished 12th in the second test of the day, although only one tenth behind Maverick Viñales, the rider who marked his exit from the group that will go directly to the second qualifying round (Q2). At Le Mans two weeks ago, the Spaniard showed his best version, coming back from 13th on the grid to cross the line second on both Saturday and Sunday. An accident that at this point in the weekend seems very difficult to repeat on the Barcelona circuit, one of the “three or four” on the calendar marked in black.

Anticipating what will happen in the first quarter, in which the two places that give passage to the decisive eliminater will be very expensive, Marc Márquez is not looking beyond sixth or seventh place with the aim of sprinting, which is the best case and until he finds the key to a qualitative leap that he saw far this Friday.

“This is the expected day, but what we wanted to avoid happened. I did well in the morning,” summed up the second, less than three tenths behind Jorge Martin, “but in the afternoon I suffered,” summarized one of Cervera (Lleida), who was overtaken by his brother Alex (eleventh place). “I made three attempts to get a fast lap, but I didn’t know how to get the most out of the tires. I need to improve and also the bike,” said the Catalan, who has always felt more comfortable on these tracks. classified as stop-and-go, that is, with aggressive braking and acceleration, which is in scenarios such as the track where smoothness is the name of the game: “My style helps me on most tracks, but there are three or four where it helps. It’s not going so well.”

Marquez arrives in Montmelo after two weekends in Jerez and France, where he finished on the podium. Many assumed they would be facing a competitive animal who won six titles in seven years, from 2013 to 2019.

“At Le Mans I saved him; twice is more difficult. I have to see myself again in this nightmare of a session. The first quarter will be difficult because the drivers here are very fast. On Friday the weekend was again difficult for us,” complained the driver from Lleida, whose feelings were even worse than those that accompanied him on Friday at Le Mans – he finished 13th. “In France on Friday we knew what a problem we had; here we still have to identify it,” emphasized No. 93, who does not consider it advisable to develop a strategy for cooperation with Alex in this inconvenient first quarter: “This is not good business, because one or the other will remain on the sidelines.”

Unlike what happened at the last competition, where he could go toe-to-toe with Martin and Pecco Bagnaia, both on the most advanced Ducati models; Not only was Marquez well behind the Desmosedici GP24, but he was overtaken by his brother, who, like him, drives a GP23. “Four 2024 Ducatis have moved into the second part of qualifying, but on this track I am more on par with the riders who have 2023 Ducatis. In fact, my brother was faster than me,” noted the multiple champion.