After a solid weekend in Mandalika, Marc Marquez is back in Japan. He has always been very fast on this track: last year, he managed the feat of climbing onto the podium with the Honda RC213V, also thanks to the rain. That's good: the weather is still uncertain this weekend, and there's no doubt that he could pull it off if Mother Nature makes the Japanese skies cry. In any case, he was ranked second in the Practice, not far from Brad Binder, in full possession of his means. And yet, everything didn't go as planned.
Marc Marquez was not the happiest at the end of this Practice. « It's a strange day. I changed bikes a few times. I didn't feel good. I could appear angry, but I wasn't really, I just wanted to keep a high level of intensity. Then in the last few outings we tried something different and it got better. » confided the eight-time world champion to the microphones of Sky SportsFortunately for him, this concern did not translate into the time trial: he was the fastest Ducati.
Up to P2! 🆙@marcmarquez93 seems to have found his mojo after some fine-tuning 👍#JapaneseGP 🇯🇵 pic.twitter.com/DmxA9rkrF2
- MotoGP @ 🏁 (@MotoGP) October 4, 2024
Although this final position suggests great things for the rest of the weekend, he is not convinced. « Unfortunately we didn't do any good laps with the used tires, we don't know where we are with this compound. During the race, the choice of the tire will be fundamental. Overall, there are still many things to improve » he continued, without saying more about his conclusions regarding the gums tested or not.
Finally, he did let it be understood that his choice would not fall on the softest option brought by Michelin to the archipelago: "The soft tire suffers a big drop. It can become an unknown in the race, especially in the event of a change of motorcycle at the stand. We have the same choices as last year." he concluded.
Despite his words, do you see Marc Marquez as a favourite for both races? Tell us in the comments!
Practice result at the 2024 MotoGP Japanese Grand Prix:
Classification credit: MotoGP.com
Cover photo: Michelin Motorsport