Assen MotoGP J.3 Race Conference Marc Marquez: a slow race, the near falls, why the final acceleration, etc. (Entirety)

This post-race press conference of the Dutch Grand Prix brought together Marc Marquez, alex rins et Maverick Vinales.

As usual, we report here our translation of the entirety of the words of Marc Marquez, without journalistic formatting or distortion.

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What a race! Is this the race you dreamed of winning?

Marc Márquez : " Of course ! I don't know how to describe it, it was a wild ride. It was like a big group of savages fighting with everyone. It was wonderful, even if the conditions were very difficult on the track because the wind was blowing a lot. On all the straights behind, in the fast corners, it was easier to stay behind someone and it was difficult to create a gap. And then, in particular, there was Lorenzo. Lorenzo attacked a lot. I tried to overtake him but he passed me immediately and I couldn't keep the pace, or have the same pace as during practice, so I said to myself "OK, we'll wait". But in between, we had a lot of heat, with Rins, with Maverick, with everyone. We fought against everyone, and in the end, I was smart. I just waited, and when I saw L7 and L6, I said to myself “OK, now I'm giving it my all, I'm going to push as hard as I can and use all the tire”. I was able to create a gap and when I saw +0.2, it was good because I could then use my trajectories. The problem is that here, when you try to use your lines to be fast, you prepare the corners a lot and everyone overtakes you. But when I had this little advantage, I told myself that it was now time to use my trajectories and I was then able to have the same pace as during the tests.

Tell us about the heat you got at turn 5, where you were passing everyone. How did you manage to stay on the bike?

“(Laughs) I don’t know. I don't know it myself. I saw photos and it was crazy. I remember having contact with Rins. He touched me but ultimately it was my fault, because I was outside. When you are on the outside, you must understand that the one on the inside has priority. I was there, I had that contact and I almost fell off the bike. The left foot, the left hand… and even the clutch lever was down, so I tried to get it back up on the straights. It was crazy. With Maverick, I also had a heat at turn 9. We had contact and I completely released the brakes, because the contact had taken place on the right arm, and I went off the track. It was difficult to manage, but in the end we were very astute and very focused, and also precise.”

You now comfortably lead the world championship…

“Yes, of course, I expected here that Valentino and Vinales would probably be very strong. They were strong, but we were stronger. And that's the most important thing, on a circuit where normally we struggle a little. We were stronger than them. When I crossed the finish line, the adrenaline was there, but when I saw on the giant screen that Rins was second, I was even happier. Because my lead is even bigger, and that’s something we have to take advantage of.”

What was it like physically for you?

“Honestly, it wasn't very physically demanding because during part of the race we were very slow. Because the problem is that it is difficult to attack and defend at the same time. Because as soon as you prepare to exit a corner, for example when Rins overtook me, the trajectory I took to prepare the exit of the corner to put myself in his wake and overtake Lorenzo, but as soon as you prepare to attack , someone overtakes you. So it was also very difficult for concentration: trying to attack and defend at the same time. But what was the most difficult was during the last 5 laps because I gave everything. I started to get tired in the last laps, but on a physical level, even during practice, I was very consistent and it wasn't a problem.

You chose a soft tire, which was a surprise after your last races…

“It was strange because normally in the last few races we used a hard tire and everyone else a soft tire. And at this race, it was the opposite; there were a lot of people in hard and we had a soft. But this time, if you had checked the allocation in depth, the soft, on some points, was harder than the hard. Yes, it is like that. It's sometimes hard to understand, but the soft had a few harder areas than the hard. Fortunately, I chose the soft because I felt more comfortable in a few corners. With the hard, yes, I was able to go fast, but I felt greater deterioration.”

The race was fantastic to watch. Why was everything so tight? Is it because of the track, the tires, the wind?

" Conditions. Track conditions and weather, especially wind. Before the race we spoke with the team and, on paper, I had a better pace than everyone. But I told them it would be difficult to create a gap, because when you are behind someone on this circuit, plus the wind which was very strong, then it is easier. In all the fast turns you were like XXX? and with the same speed. It was therefore very difficult to build a gap. So for me, the wind is the main reason.”

Can you now breathe a little in the championship?

“Frankly speaking, before this weekend I said to myself that we might lose a few points at this circuit. But we won some. We won a lot. But that doesn't mean we're going to relax, it's quite the opposite: it's time to attack! Because we are at a point where the gap is large but not sufficient. I want more, more is more! This is the way I try to keep the same mentality, to keep the same level, and it is important that on a circuit where Yamaha has been very strong in the past and where we were struggling, I was able to be there, especially during testing. More during the race, OK, but during practice I was able to have the best pace. Then, during the race, when I led in the last laps, even with the wind and everything, I was able to do small 34s again, and that's the most important thing.

Have you seen the contact between Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo?

“Regarding this question, I don’t know. I can’t answer because I didn’t see anything.”

When you were leading the race, were you sure you would win?

“You know, one of the problems here is what I explained: I tried to lead the race at the beginning, but here, with new tires, everyone can go fast. We saw it during qualifying where the times were very close. And it was impossible to create a gap, in particular because if I used my trajectories, then everyone overtook me since I went very wide in the turns. But the most important point was when there were only 4 or 5 rounds left, and I saw +0.2. There, I told myself that I was going to use my trajectories and prepare well for the exits. And that was the most important point because when I drove the same way as during testing, it gave the same times. It was easier and faster. That was the key.”

There is a Honda, a Suzuki and a Yamaha on the podium. What about the Ducatis? Can you make a comment?

“Maybe the Ducatis weren't able to use their strengths here. Because they have very good acceleration and very good braking. And here, we don't have a lot of strong braking and the accelerations are smooth: this is not the most important point. But even so, when Lorenzo was leading, he was very strong in certain places, and even Dovi. I don't know what happened with Dovi at the end, because when we were towards the middle of the race and we were all fighting together, I saw that Lorenzo was struggling a little more but that Dovi had potential. So I was worried about Dovi because I expected him to be quick at the end. And about the other bikes, Suzuki, Yamaha, maybe on this circuit the brand of the bike is not very, very important. It is more important to know how to manage, especially since the race has been slow. We were running 1'35s for a lot of laps, and that was a second off a good pace."

In a race like that, what part is the machine and what part is the driver's mind?

“Of course, it’s always a compromise. But maybe on some circuits the machine is more important and on some others you can compensate for some problems of your bike. But when you have this kind of race, with a lot of wind, a slow race, everyone with different tires, everyone trying to manage, big fights, then the driver makes the difference. Because you have to be very precise to know how to attack, where to attack, where to overtake, where to defend your position. It was very difficult but that's the best part of MotoGP that the rider is more important than the machine. Well, of course, the machine is very important, otherwise Honda (sign of spanking. Laughs).”

Does the fact that the Ducati were also strong here even though it is not their favorite circuit worry you?

“Since last year, the second half, the Ducati have been strong everywhere. For example if you look at Valencia, the Ducati were strong and in the leading group. Now the Ducatis are working well. But most importantly, our worst result this year was 2nd place. So even on a circuit where we usually struggle, we are there, on the podium. This is the most important, but yes, Ducati will be very strong during the second part of the season because there are circuits where they are very, very fast. But at the moment, Andrea is 2 points behind me, so we will try to manage that in a good way.”

Dutch Grand Prix Assen MotoGP Race: Standings

1	93	Marc Márquez	Honda	41'13.863
2	42	Alex Rins	Suzuki	+2.269
3	25	Maverick VIÑALES	Yamaha	+2.308
4	4	Andrea Dovizioso	Ducati	+2.422
5	46	Valentino ROSSI	Yamaha	+2.963
6	35	Cal Crutchlow	Honda	+3.876
7	99	Jorge Lorenzo	Ducati	+4.462
8	5	johann zarco	Yamaha	+7.001
9	19	Alvaro BAUTISTA	Ducati	+7.541
10	43	Jack Miller	Ducati	+13.056
11	29	Andrea Iannone	Suzuki	+14.255
12	44	Pol Espargaró	KTM	+15.876
13	41	Aleix Espargaro	Aprilia	+15.986
14	45	Scott REDDING	Aprilia	+16.019
15	26	Dani PEDROSA	Honda	+16.043
16	53	Tito RABAT	Ducati	+16.416
17	38	Bradley SMITH	KTM	+29.073
18	55	Hafiz Syahrin	Yamaha	+33.824
19	30	Takaaki NAKAGAMI	Honda	+34.037
20	12	Thomas LUTHI	Honda	+47.853
		Unclassified
	9	Danilo PETRUCCI	Ducati	9 Tours
	10	Xavier SIMEON	Ducati	9 Tours
	17	Karel ABRAHAM	Ducati	15 Tours

Photo credits: MotoGP.com