MotoGP Brno Day 3, Marc Marquez (Ducati/1) Debriefing: "Yes, we're in the game," etc. (Full Report)

The press conference held after the Grand Prix MotoGP from Czechia on the Brno circuit brought together Marc Marquez (Ducati Lenovo Team), Ai Ogura (SuperFile Trackhouse MotoGP Team) and Francis Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) for their debriefing in front of journalists.

Winner of the race, number #93 scored an even bigger victory considering it was a right-hand turn circuit… and that the championship leader, Marco Bezzecchi (Aprilia Racing), has been suspended from the GP.
His deficit in the overall standings is now only 40 points, whereas it was 102 points after Mugello…

As usualWe reproduce his words here in their entirety without any formatting, even though they are translated from English. MotoGP Barcelona Bezzecchi

(I.e. Welcome everyone to this Sunday's press conference, following the Monster Energy Czech Grand Prix here at the Brno circuit. Congratulations to our top three: Ducati Lenovo Team rider and reigning world champion Marc Márquez. Marc takes his second consecutive victory here in Brno and secures his 75th MotoGP win.
Second place went to Ai Ogura of Trackhouse Aprilia, who had a fantastic weekend. He became the first Japanese rider to secure a MotoGP pole position in six years and finished second in both yesterday's Sprint and today's Grand Prix.
The podium is completed by Pecco Bagnaia. Third in this Grand Prix, he achieves a fourth consecutive podium finish and his 63rd podium in MotoGP, which allows him to enter the Top 10 of all time in Grand Prix racing.
Congratulations to all three of you.

🎤 Marc, let's start with you. I have the feeling this is a much more unexpected victory than the one you achieved at Balaton Park two weeks ago. You had to fight hard for it, after a real battle and in very difficult conditions. Are you surprised to find yourself in first place again in Brno?
Marc Marquez: “Yes, of course. This one was totally unexpected, especially because I think that today, the ideal, or even very optimistic, goal was the podium. The victory was something I wasn’t expecting.”
But right from the start of the race, I attacked in the right way in the first few laps and I saw that when I was behind Pecco, the pace was there. I was just a little stuck behind him.
I couldn't overtake him at first. And since I was using the rear tire a lot, I was a little scared, because with this riding style, I knew I was putting a lot of stress on the rear tire, because I wasn't able to brake as I wanted.
But when I made my final attack, in the last five laps, it was enough to take the lead.
Then Ogura was coming back, so I was quite worried about his pace in the final part of the race, because he's usually very strong in those moments.

“It was completely unexpected this one”🎙️ – @marcmarquez93

The 93 worked hard but didn't think the win would go his way 💪#CzechGP 🇨🇿 pic.twitter.com/GEomaUUjGZ

- MotoGP @ 🏁 (@MotoGP) June 21, 2026

🎤 You overtook Pecco on lap 16 to take the lead and held it until the checkered flag. But you can never relax when you see a gap of 0,79 seconds on the pit board. We know, as you just said, how strong Ai is in the closing laps. We saw you pushing really hard to get that win, especially with that big scare at turn 13.
Can you explain what happened? Did you get the impression that Ai was closer than he actually was?
“Yes. When I was pushing, I managed to maintain that gap, but it was always there. On the last lap, at turns 11 and 12, I made a small mistake and I didn't know exactly where Ogura was behind me. I wasn't very comfortable with him right behind me. I then defended well at turn 13, but I opened the throttle very early to attack turn 14 and defend that corner, because after the Moto2 race, I thought to myself: "OK, we need to be particularly careful in this area."
And yes, that was enough to cross the finish line in first place.

🎤 Always attentive, always learning, Marc, despite more than one hundred Grand Prix victories.
Finally, the championship situation has changed a lot in the last two weeks. You've gained 62 points on Marco Bezzecchi in two races.
We know he had a very difficult weekend here in the Czech Republic. Before this round, we had the impression that you weren't really thinking about the world championship, but now you must be starting to feel that you're in the fight and that you have a great opportunity to go for an eighth world title.
"I mean, a month and a half ago, it was all over. I was in the hospital and I was more than a hundred points behind."
And now, I don't know how, I'm only 40 points behind the leader. So yes, we're in the game.
I need to keep my feet on the ground, because in Assen, my main goal is simply to survive. It's a circuit where, even when I'm in top form, I already suffer a lot. So this year, I'll have to be extra careful there.
Next will come the Sachsenring, then the summer break. And I hope, and I believe, that after the summer break I can come back in attack mode.

🎤 Marc, how well do you know your own body? Because at the beginning of the weekend, you told us that a fifth place or a Top 5 finish would already be good, and in the end you won again. Is it as much a question of mental state as physical condition?
"I mean, of course, now it's much more mentally demanding than physically demanding, in the way I approach weekends.
Why? Because, especially on Fridays, it's very difficult to slow down for three laps, push for one lap, slow down for three laps, push for one lap.
Mentally, maintaining focus and getting your bearings is extremely demanding. But it's the best way to arrive on Saturday in good condition.
So it's true that I don't know what my 100% will be in the future, but my goal is to try to reach my new 100% every Saturday and every Sunday.
Friday doesn't matter. The only goal on Friday is to be in the Top 10, to fine-tune the bike, and then to make a step forward on Saturday.

(I.e. My second question is a bit delicate, but I think we would all like to know what the three of you think about the sanctions imposed on Marco Bezzecchi…
« (Sigh) I will not make any further comments because there is already a lot of noise on social media.
It can happen. We are young. We are learning things in front of millions of people.
So, in the heat of the moment, with all the adrenaline and perhaps the frustration of the fall… but of course, I think he learned a lesson from it.
But here's the thing. We learn things every day. And most of us are between 20 and 30 years old.
So we still have a lot to learn in life.

🎤 Marc, for the past few weeks you've been constantly using the word "survive." So when are you going to start talking about "attack"? Will it be at the Sachsenring, or is it still too soon?
"I hope so after the summer break. Of course, the Sachsenring is a circuit where I'd like to start attacking. But after the summer break, I hope so. I can't say I believe it, but I hope so."
And when you want something, I will try to forget it, or at least get into acceptable physical condition to fly the way I want.
Today, in the final part of the race, the bike was capable of going faster. It's just that I wasn't able to reach the limit.

🎤 Marc, when you crossed the finish line, you raised your visor. Thanks to the onboard camera, we could see that you seemed to be in considerable pain. Was it simply general fatigue? Or is there a particular part of your body that's bothering you? I also saw you doing some stretches with your right arm. Is that related? How did you feel?
"No, it was simply general fatigue. Fortunately, I no longer have any discomfort, I no longer have any pain. I simply have a lack of strength, a lack of muscle. And so, I compensate with other parts of my body."
So it was general fatigue.
It's true that my heart rate, because we know what the values are during races, is higher than ever since my return from injury. But at home, it's lower than ever.
This means that when I'm riding the motorcycle, I compensate with other parts of my body for what I lack in my right arm.