Before going on vacation, and after winning the German Grand Prix for the eighth consecutive time, Marc Márquez spoke at the post-race press conference which also brought together Jonas Folger and Dani Pedrosa.
As usual, in order to avoid any “sensationalist” journalistic interpretation, we offer you a “raw” translation of all of Marc Marquez's comments, without any formatting.
Eighth consecutive victory, second victory of the year, and you lead the championship: is everything going well?
Marc Márquez : “yes, honestly, it was a very, very difficult race. Before the weekend, I knew I had to attack on this circuit my goal was 25 points. Before the race, everything was more or less under control, I had chosen the right tires, everything was clear, and in my mind my teammate would be my main opponent. When the race started, I was there checking and saving my tires when Jonas overtook me. Honestly, at first it was a good surprise because I told myself that one more driver could be between me and the others. And after a few rounds, you know, "What are you doing here?" » (Laughs). He was always close, he never let up and I started to attack a little more, a little more, but he was always there and I saw on the panel 0.1, 0.2…
Then I began to realize that he would be there until the end. I then slowed down a little because I knew that Dani was very, very far away. And yes, in the last five laps I gave everything because it was not a good idea to arrive at the last lap in the last corner with a German driver on a German circuit. So I forced myself, and yes, I am happy. (Jonas) also deserves his reward because he did the fastest lap. I am very very happy”
A few races ago, Valentino Rossi said that you would lead the championship before the summer break…
“Yes, I mean, three races ago I was 37 points behind, but honestly, before Assen, I got a Whatsup message from Santi Hernandez, my friend; he works with me but ultimately he's my friend. He said “don’t worry Marc, you will lead the championship before the summer”. I said, “Okay, what are you drinking?” » (laughs) because we were very far away in the championship. Ultimately we have to have confidence, we have to believe in our work, we have to continue to attack like we have been doing. And yes, I am happy with this victory, and there is something special that I promised myself: the first victory I have after Hayden's accident is for him and his family, because he was a very good friend. »
Everyone is going on vacation but you have a test...
“yes, we will have a slightly shorter vacation, one week, but maybe now it will be a little longer because after a victory everything is easier. But yes, we have a test at the end of the month in Brno. It will be an important test to prepare well for the second part of the season. We know everything is extremely tight. There are five drivers in 26 points, everything is very tight, everything starts from scratch, but we are here! So happy. There will perhaps be circuits where we will struggle more, other circuits less, but we will try. »
Is your goal always victory and controlling the misadventures of your opponents?
“I mean, for example, in Assen I had another goal. It was about trying to finish on the podium. In Assen, maybe if I had taken more risks I could have fought for victory, but that was taking too many risks. The objective here was to try to win. We know we are going to Brno, where we have a test, so we will try to stay on the podium again. We know that in Austria, perhaps we will struggle more. It depends on the circuits but the championship is very long. We can have rain but we are very fast this year, we feel good, which is important, and I repeat what I already said on Thursday: the most important thing for me is that we are still here, whatever are the conditions. Our level never regresses much. So this is the most important. And it's nice to go on vacation leading the championship. By only five points, but it's better to be five points ahead than five points behind. »
How did you find the left side of the rear tire?
“During the weekend I tried all the tires and my big question mark was how fast I was with all the tires. I tried to do a lot of laps with the soft because I have confidence in this tire. But before the race we told ourselves that even with the medium we were fast enough to fight for the victory, so we didn't want to make a mistake by choosing the soft and then suffering during the race. I had a bit of a problem with the high temperature of the rear tire. My teammate, Dani, is a little lighter and was able to maintain tire life and temperature better. But I think I was able to keep a good pace, and in the end, the pace was even better than I expected. »
German Grand Prix results:
1. Marc Marquez ESP Repsol Honda Team (RC213V) 40m 59.525s
2. Jonas Folger GER Monster Yamaha Tech 3 (YZR-M1)* 41m 2.835s
3. Dani Pedrosa ESP Repsol Honda Team (RC213V) 41m 11.071s
4. Maverick Vinales ESP Movistar Yamaha MotoGP (YZR-M1) 41m 13.778s
5. Valentino Rossi ITA Movistar Yamaha MotoGP (YZR-M1) 41m 14.505s
6. Alvaro Bautista ESP Pull&Bear Aspar Team (Desmosedici GP16) 41m 16.059s
7. Aleix Espargaro ESP Factory Aprilia Gresini (RS-GP) 41m 19.261s
8. Andrea Dovizioso ITA Ducati Team (Desmosedici GP17) 41m 19.713s
9. Johann Zarco FRA Monster Yamaha Tech 3 (YZR-M1)* 41m 20.663s
10. Cal Crutchlow GBR LCR Honda (RC213V) 41m 23.735s
11. Jorge Lorenzo ESP Ducati Team (Desmosedici GP17) 41m 25.184s
12. Danilo Petrucci ITA Octo Pramac Racing (Desmosedici GP17) 41m 31.065s
13. Pol Espargaro ESP Red Bull KTM Factory Racing (RC16) 41m 31.704s
14. Bradley Smith GBR Red Bull KTM Factory Racing (RC16) 41m 35.978s
15. Jack Miller AUS Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS (RC213V) 41m 37.296s
16. Mika Kallio FIN Red Bull KTM Factory Racing (RC16) 41m 37.377s
17. Karel Abraham CZE Pull&Bear Aspar Team (Desmosedici GP15) 41m 38.848s
18. Tito Rabat ESP Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS (RC213V) 41m 40.715s
19. Loris Baz FRA Reale Avintia Racing (Desmosedici GP15) 41m 59.375s
20. Scott Redding GBR Octo Pramac Racing (Desmosedici GP16) 42m 1.189s
21. Alex Rins ESP Team Suzuki Ecstar (GSX-RR)* 42m 1.220s
Provisional ranking of the World Championship:
1 Marc MARQUEZ-Honda 129 points
2 Maverick VIÑALES-Yamaha 124
3 Andrea DOVIZIOSO-Ducati 123
4 Valentino ROSSI-Yamaha 119
5 Dani PEDROSA-Honda 103
6 Johann ZARCO-Yamaha 84
7 Jonas FOLGER-Yamaha 71
8 Danilo PETRUCCI-Ducati 66
9 Jorge LORENZO-Ducati 65
10 Cal CRUTCHLOW-Honda 64
11 Alvaro BAUTISTA-Ducati 44
12 Jack MILLER-Honda 41
13 Scott REDDING-Ducati 33
14 Aleix ESPARGARO-Aprilia 32
15 Loris BAZ-Ducati 31
16 Andrea IANNONE 28
17 Tito RABAT 23
18 Hector BARBERA 21
19 Karel ABRAHAM 20
20 Pol ESPARGARO 14
21 Bradley SMITH 8
22 Alex RINS 7
23 Michele PIRRO 7
24 Sam LOWES 2
25 Sylvain GUINTOLI 1
Photo credit: MotoGP.com
