Why Marquez felt he ‘won’ at Sachsenring

Marc Marquez felt like he ‘won’ the long German MotoGP Grand Prix race. after coming back from 13th on the grid to finish second behind his future teammate Pecco Bagnai.

The eight-time world champion is considered “King of Sachsenring” thanks to his unbeaten run on the German circuit between 2011 and 2021, in both the top and lower categories. But his hopes of adding a 12th win to his record in Saxony were jeopardized when He fell during training on Friday, breaking a finger on his left hand and suffering a severe bruise to his rib.

A combination of mechanical and traffic problems saw Stefan Bradl ruin his final qualifying lap in Q1. He was left 13th on the grid on a circuit where overtaking is difficult.which led to Marquez classifying the German Grand Prix as a “the toughest weekend” of the 2024 season.

However, Servers managed to stage an incredible comeback in the main race on Sundaybreaking into the top 10 on the first lap and then slowly making his way through the field to secure an unlikely podium place.

It was his fourth Sunday podium this year but while he was delighted to be on it alongside his younger brother Alex Marquez, he made no secret of his disappointment at a weekend filled with problems and incidents on track.I feel like I won the race, that’s the real feeling (I have). It was an incredible race! I didn’t expect to finish on the podium“, said.

“The weekend ended very well because we were persistent, it was like Sanfermines. It is true that we leave with a good taste in our mouths, but it was a bad weekend from which we need to learn. We had a lot of technical problems and I made a big mistake at Turn 11 (crash) which affected the whole weekend. If I could have equalised I would have been able to fight with Pecco Bagnaia and Jorge Martin.– he continued, recalling with these words his own statements on Thursday, upon arrival in Germany.

Marquez had to take part in the sprint using “the strongest painkillers he could find,” his concussion was the main cause of his problems. But Gresini’s driver reported that he managed to get in. “The Way of Marquez” on Sunday, having successfully completed a full recovery overnight on Saturday.

“First and foremost, today (Sunday) I woke up and my body felt better. I arrived this morning and told my team that I can drive aggressively, in ‘Marquez mode’. The finger is broken, of course, but not even yesterday (there was a problem). The ribs were very tough. But today I was able to get up, and they were already gone.”

It is worth recalling that in the race under number 93 collided with Franco Morbidelli’s Ducati as they battled for fourth place in the final stages of the race.when the Italian closed in on the first corner of the German track after the opening and Marc tried to take advantage of the gap, an incident that left the Catalan out of control.

Finally, on the penultimate lap, he was able to overtake the Pramac Racing driver and his brother Alex to take second place, thanks in part to the fall of Jorge Martin. Marquez said that The incident with Morbidelli prompted him to run aggressively in the final stages of the race..

“We started the race trying not to put too much pressure on the tyres and climbed slowly. No panic, because overtaking here is super difficult.“The contact with Morbidelli was unexpected and I lost a lot of time then. Two laps before that incident Franco went a little wide at the first corner and there I slowed the bike a little but then got closer. Two turns later it was even longer and I said to myself it was time. But he closed the line and we touched.”

“But it also made it click and turn off (the switch for conservative driving). After that I was going for everything“And then in the last laps, when I was catching my brother, there were a lot of questions: ‘What can I do, attack, take a risk?’ If something happens (between us), what will happen? ’ We were both on the podium in the last two laps, and that made everything easier,” he concluded.