When we say that Alex Marquez finished just behind championship leader Andrea Dovizioso after qualifying for the Barcelona Grand Prix, we imagine he is in a good position for the race. But when we refine the analysis, we see that the two men are at the back of the grid. The great promises seen during the two free practice sessions vanished for the Honda official who found himself helpless this Saturday in Catalonia. He explains…
Alex Marquez, debutant in the MotoGP category within the Repsol Honda MotoGP team, will only start from 18th place on Sunday during the MotoGP race in Barcelona. A disappointment, because on Friday, on the same Montmelo track, he showed himself to his advantage by identifying himself as a contender for direct entry into Q2. But the next day was a completely different day...
« The situation was different on Saturday, I was in a critical situation because I couldn't get the most out of the tires ", Explain Marquez, who received a visit from his brother Marc on the weekend in Barcelona. “ But we still don't have the room for improvement of other manufacturers. We are still a little limited. We are also not very good at pace over distance ».
“We are reducing engine power too much”
Regarding the upcoming race on the smooth asphalt of the “Circuit de Catalunya-Barcelona”, the Spaniard says: “ it will be difficult to manage the tire over the distance. We saw in FP4 that some drivers are very fast on certain laps then a lap later on the same tire even significantly slower. It's very difficult to understand ».
« Rear grip will be very important. The medium tire would be an option, some will probably bet on it. But we have a problem when the grip is so bad » regrets the teammate Stefan bradl, 20rd. He finishes : " we also need to improve our feeling going forward. You have to use the medium at the front, the soft is probably broken after ten laps. KTM is a little better in a similar situation. We are losing too much, we reduce engine power too much with traction control ».
« Since we don't start until 15 p.m. tomorrow, we hope the temperature on the track can be higher. We could then better use the medium tire at the front ". The best Honda will start 11rd in the hands of Takaaki Nakagami.
MotoGP Barcelona J2: qualifying
