This Sunday, September 12, 2021, Marc Marquez answered questions from journalists from the Motorland Aragón circuit, at the end of the MotoGP Aragón Grand Prix.
We went to listen (via teleconferencing software) to the words of the Spanish driver, author of his second podium of the season after his victory at the Sachsenring in June, and who fought a magnificent duel against Pecco Bagnaia throughout the race. .
As usual, we report here the words of Marc Márquez without the slightest formatting.
Marc, you really gave everything here, and it must have been difficult for you to do more today. You must also be very happy to be back on the podium after the two falls you suffered earlier in the weekend...
" It is It is clear that I am very happy with this second place, especially after my two accidents on Friday and Saturday. I'm human, and it was quite difficult to approach this race and be fast in these conditions, because I didn't want to make any additional mistakes. The sensations I had this weekend on the bike were very good, and I don't know if such an opportunity to be at the front will come again this year. »
" I have tried everything from the start to follow Pecco. I knew even before my final attack that he was doing a fantastic job, he braked very late but managed to take the corners well, and on top of that he was fantastically fast in the acceleration phases. I knew that on the last lap, even if I arrived on the back straight in front of him, he would have passed me again. I really tried and gave everything, but he had an incredible race, so I can only congratulate him. It's a difficult year for us, but these types of results at least prove to us that we are capable of fighting with the guys in front again. »
“I don’t know if such an opportunity to be at the forefront will present itself this year”
Did you constantly have victory in mind during the race, or did you also think about taking it easy?
" In Firstly, I tried to analyze the places where Pecco was fast, and where his weak points were located. The problem was that there were no weak points to analyze! I fought several times with Dovizioso when he was at Ducati, and there Pecco was doing Dovi but with even more speed in corners! »
" I So I asked myself the question of where I could pass it, but I haven't been able to determine a precise one. He braked better than me and accelerated better than me. I was better than him in certain braking phases, especially in left turns, but not at all on the right. I hope all the fans had fun watching this duel, it was a great race and for my part I must say that I had a lot of fun on the bike. Finally, I still suffered more than I enjoyed! This evening it will be very nice to watch the race again over a good pizza! »
“Pecco did the Dovi, but with even more speed in the corners! »
Was your shoulder a problem during your battle against Pecco?
" It was acceptable from the shoulder point of view. For me, Pecco was simply better than us, so it wasn't a real problem. »
We're going to Austin in two rounds. Do you think we're going to see the "great Marc" there again that we saw today?
" We we'll see what happens in Austin, because before that there's Misano and I'm taking the races one after the other. It's true that from a physical point of view, this weekend was one of the most complicated for me, but in the end it was still one of my best weekends on the bike. So we will see where we are in Misano. Of course I think we will be fast in Austin, but I don't want to be fast only on one track, I want to be fast everywhere, and so we have to keep working. »
How do you judge your season so far compared to your expectations for the first round in Portimão?
" It This is probably the most difficult season of my career, and it's true that it's particularly hard both physically and mentally. In Portimão, we arrived with low expectations, but with the certainty that my physical condition would improve much more quickly than is actually the case. »
" We We're also working a lot on the bike, because all the Honda riders are in difficulty. We just have to see where Nakagami and my brother were here last year [Alex Márquez had signed a podium during the first round contested in Aragón, and the Japanese had for his part signed the pole position during the second] only to realize that they are in difficulty today. However, there are still five races to go, and we will try to finish the 2021 season on a good note and prepare well for 2022. »
After qualifying, heavy tire wear was expected at the end of the race. Was this degradation so spectacular?
“Usury tires was not a real problem here, because even when choosing the soft tire the degradation was acceptable. There was definitely a deterioration, but it happened gradually, and it's always easier for the drivers when it happens like that. »
We noticed yesterday that you were no longer able to make the same rescues as in the past on the right side. Was this something you took into consideration during your duel with Pecco?
" Through In the past, my riding style was mostly about kicking my front tire and constantly playing with the limit and making a few rescues with my elbow. But it's not something I'm capable of doing anymore, at least for now. As soon as I make a slight movement I fall. »
" It is Why am I having so many accidents this year? In the past I managed to recover the bike when I lost the front, whereas now I don't even try to catch anything. For example today during my battle with Pecco, I didn't feel in full control during some of my overtaking attempts, and so I was going wide and just letting off the brakes. But I am sure that as soon as I am in better shape I will be able to fight like before. »
“As soon as I am in better shape I will be able to fight like before”
You have just declared that you were not sure of returning to your best level by the end of the season. Do you think you will never get back to your best?
" It There are of course doubts and we are working on that. When I returned to Portimão I expected to regain my sensations more quickly, especially when it came to riding the bike. But for now I still can't ride the way I want, because as soon as I do I fall. »
" I So I can't drive normally at the moment, and it's hard for me to find a way to do it differently. The objective is to find a way to become competitive again, even if it is not with the same driving style as in the past. As we demonstrated here and in Austria, driving a different way does not necessarily mean being slow. But everything doesn't just depend on me: We also have to continue working with the team on the bike. »
“Driving differently does not necessarily mean being slow”
It was a race under high tension, because you couldn't relax for a single second and you would have lost the thread...
" Before The start was already difficult because the start of the weekend had not been easy for us, and we did not have the same level of confidence after our two falls. I started knowing that if I pushed too far forward then I ran the risk of falling. So I tried to be very precise in my driving. »
" Before my last attack I thought about it and I said to myself that second place was already pretty good and that maybe it wasn't necessary to attack more, especially since Pecco didn't make any error and that I was unable to find the slightest place to carry out an effective attack. And then finally I told myself that I was going to do as usual, that I was going to do everything to try to get through to the end, even knowing that by passing him in the winding zone he would still go passed me again on the back straight, which of course he did. But this result satisfies me, as does my team. »
Turn 12 seemed like a really good place to pass Bagnaia and open up a slight gap that might have been enough to defend yourself on the back straight. Why did you attack everywhere except this place?
" I have tried to attack in turn 1, turn 5, but also turn 7, even if for the latter it was ultimately not the case because it's a right turn and I don't have enough good sensations to allow me to attack in this type of portion. So I concentrated most of my attacks on the left turns. »
" I have also thought about attacking in turn 15, but I remembered that I had already attacked twice there, but it was really too tricky. In turn 12 I only attacked once because again it was very easy to make a mistake, and that's what happened because I braked too hard and as soon as the rear slipped away, I gave up on following the correct trajectory to shoot straight and go wide. »
Aragón MotoGP Grand Prix standings:
World Drivers' Championship standings:
Classification credit: MotoGP.com
