On this Saturday, May 29, 2021, Marc Márquez answered questions from journalists from the Mugello circuit at the end of the second day of the Italian Grand Prix.
We went to listen (via teleconferencing software) to the words of the Spanish pilot who closed the session in qualifying in 11th place, just ahead of his teammate Pol Espargaro. Number 93, in difficulty this weekend in Italy due to his still painful right shoulder, had shortly before achieved the best time in Q1, but by creating controversy after having scored in the panties Maverick Vinales.
A process that is not very fair in the opinion of the Repsol Honda driver, who explains that he sought in this way to fill the level of performance that he is lacking these days in Tuscany.
As usual, we report here the words of Marc Márquez without the slightest formatting.
After your misstep on the track with Maverick Viñales, Yamaha officials pointed the finger at you, explaining that your tactics were not fair play. Did you talk about it with Maverick? What is your version of the story?
" I I of course went to talk to Maverick before the press conference. I apologized, because I know it wasn't really fair play, and told him he was right to be angry. But on the other hand this afternoon I really didn't feel very good on the bike. With my current physical condition plus everything else I was not at my best. At the end of FP4 I told the team that I had no feeling on the bike, and that we had to follow someone [in qualifying to get a decent result].
We then looked down the list and the fastest guy seemed to be Viñales. It would have been someone else, we would have taken someone else. So I followed him, because it was the only way I had to progress. You know, I would have liked to have had a completely different level and to be able to attack at the forefront and for the others to be forced to follow me in this way, as was often the case in the past. But it didn't happen like that. As this has happened to me in the past, I can imagine what Maverick must have been thinking, and I apologize. But at the end of the day, it remains within the regulatory framework. Now my goal is to give the best of myself to achieve the best possible result tomorrow. »
“It would have been someone else, we would have followed someone else. »
Marc, you said that you weren't at your best in the afternoon. We have seen massages on your shoulder. Was it more complicated than yesterday in the end? And if so, what do you expect from the race in such circumstances?
" The The sensations were generally better than yesterday, but in the afternoon I really had less strength in my [right] arm. This is something I really feel in the chicanes and changes of direction. The shoulder is painful, but yesterday I also had pain in the arm and today it radiated to the neck: In short, the area which includes the shoulder. In fact this area works more than the other arm, and it is not specific to the shoulder.
This really concerns the entire area around it: The neck, back, arm, biceps, triceps etc. We laughed about it with Maverick, I told him that tomorrow in the race he was going to pass me and that I was going to finish in the position that should be mine, around 14th. In fact I don't know exactly what my position will be in the end, but I know that I have to finish the race, do the laps and accumulate the kilometers. It's a difficult mental process, but it's necessary. »
« Il faut que j’enchaîne les tours et que j’accumule les kilomètres. »
Qualifying standings for the MotoGP Italian Grand Prix at Mugello:
Classification credit: MotoGP.com
