The conference held after the Malaysian Grand Prix brought together Maverick Viñales, Marc Márquez and Andrea Dovizioso.
As usual, we report here the raw words of Marc Marquez, without the slightest journalistic interpretation.
Marc, you continue your Top 2 record even though you started from 11th position. What a start you have made! Did you expect to be so isolated towards the end?
Marc Márquez : « (rires) oui, je suis très très heureux de ma course, et bien sûr je suis heureux pour mon frère. Mais oui, le premier tour a été incroyable, et pas seulement moi, Dovi aussi. Il a fait un départ incroyable ! C’était comme une fusée sur la partie gauche de la grille ! Et oui, j’ai bien passé le premier virage et j’ai ensuite commencé à attaquer. Je cherchais Viñales, Maverick, car il avait le meilleur rythme. Je savais que si je pouvais l’attraper, je serai avec lui, comme à Phillip Island. Mais en deux tours, j’ai perdu trop de temps avec Jack et il a créé un écart d’une seconde. J’ai essayé mais il était plus rapide. Quand il est plus rapide, il est impossible de réduire l’écart, et aujourd’hui c’était le plus rapide en piste. Ensuite, je me suis dit “OK, j’ai fait le plus difficile. Maintenant, il faut juste essayer de finir la course”. J’ai attaqué et un moment de la course j’ai commencé à remonter sur lui, mais j’ai alors commis une grosse erreur au virage 7 ou 8. Je suis sorti de la piste et je suis revenu. Mais à part ça, je suis heureux. Il est vrai qu’une fois de plus, c’est encore une fois le résultat de l’année, une deuxième place (rires) mais nous étions partis de la 11e place et nous ne pouvons pas oublier que, normalement, nous peinons beaucoup ici. Mais on l’a encore fait. »
"I tried, but @ mvkoficial12 was faster" – @marcmarquez93 🎙️
Second was the maximum available for the World Champion today! 🥈#MalaysianGP 🇲🇾 pic.twitter.com/HkWYdAezIr
- MotoGP @ 🏁 (@MotoGP) November 3, 2019
And your brother stood up to the pressure and was titled today...
“I’m so proud of my brother!” I am proud of my brother because I think it is very difficult to be “le frère de”. Il a eu beaucoup de pression et a débuté la Moto2 avec un feeling pas très bon mais le team a cru en lui et il y est arrivé. Mais il n’est pas facile d’être “le frère de”. Pour parler franchement, avec certains médias c’est parfois bien mais avec d’autres c’est dur. Il m’a demandé : “qu’est-ce que je fais ? Je regarde les réseaux sociaux ? Non ! Ne regarde pas les réseaux sociaux et continue simplement à attaquer ! Crois en toi ! Tu es le même le même homme qui a remporté le championnat du monde Moto3, tu es le même homme qui a remporté quatre courses consécutives !”. Et oui, aujourd’hui il a fait une course de champion ! Ce départ “le frère de”, it’s Alex Márquez! »
Marc, can you explain to us your physical condition after the big fall you suffered yesterday? Because looking at you, it seems like nothing happened...
" No no no. Yes, yes, yes (laughs). This morning when I woke up I felt pain everywhere, but I felt much better before celebrating my brother's title. During this celebration, I gave everything! I forgot my knees, I forgot my right hand! During the race, I felt that my arm was becoming numb and perhaps had less power. But that's not an excuse! This is not an excuse about the race and the way I rode the bike, because when I ride the bike I disconnect everything! And yes, my brother gave me this extra motivation and I said to myself “OK, je dois finir sur le podium, je dois bien finir car cette nuit sera longue”. Et c’est ce que nous avons fait. »
THIS MOMENT ❤️ #AM73WorldChampion 🎯 pic.twitter.com/aYeAjhCjCu
- MotoGP @ 🏁 (@MotoGP) November 3, 2019
“But apart from the fact that we are going to celebrate, I would like to remember that today was an emotional day. It's an emotional day because we received some bad news yesterday, we lost Munander. He was a talented young rider from Indonesia and I knew him because he rode for Astra Honda and we went there many times. So yes, it's incredible, but we can't forget that everyone here realizes and knows the risks we take on the track. We take these risks to take advantage of the best moments and achieve our goals. So when we achieve our goals, we must enjoy it. Today we will appreciate in his name as he sought those moments while driving and attacking for his passion. He will always be a Grand Prix driver apart. »
It was much warmer today than yesterday. How did this affect your motorcycle?
“Today it was warmer, and the main question mark was the choice of rear tire. I believed more in the medium rear tire but the whole team believed more in the soft. So we fought, me against the team and the team against me (laughs). I was pushing for mediums but I said “OK, on va faire une chose. Le titre pilote est acquis, le titre constructeur est acquis, mais le titre des équipes n’est pas acquis. Donc vous prenez la décision ! Et si vous faites une erreur, ce sera de votre faute”. Je l’ai dit à Takeo : “ce sera ton erreur !” (rires). On ne sait pas ce qui se serait passé avec le médium, mais au final c’était un choix correct car nous avons atteint notre objectif qui était la deuxième place. »
Did you run out of fuel on the return lap?
" No no no. Here I finished the gas once again but that wasn't a problem. I have to say it here, I was able to drive the way I wanted. But in the last four laps I was spinning a lot on the straights, so you use more fuel. Consumption was therefore high during the last laps because, even in fifth, I was skating a lot on the straights. That's the reason, but it wasn't a problem for driving. »
How do you see your opponents, Ducati and Yamaha, next year?
“Of course, in terms of speed, it seems that the Yamaha have something more since the second part of this season. In terms of consistency, Andrea is still there! He is very consistent and will be a tough opponent. In the first race, we start from scratch, with no favorites and everyone tied. But yes, the second part of this season was different: Yamaha was very, very strong, but in the end, considering this second part of the season, I scored more points than them. So in the end it was more difficult but when we struggled in some races we finished in second place. But yes, it is time to work and progress. We'll see this winter. Our opponents will respond to us to find out if we are in good shape or not.”
What do you think of the Petronas SRT team's lack of performance today?
“It’s a new team. Of course, they do very good things. It's a very good, professional team, which has two young drivers, Morbidelli and Quartararo. They are very fast but perhaps over the race distance they don't have much experience. But they showed their speed! For sure, Quartararo was very fast yesterday and celebrated his pole position very well, but in the end he may have struggled today with something, but he has very good speed. And yes, he will be a tough opponent next year as well. »
Ranking MotoGP Malaysian Grand Prix at Sepang:
Credit for rankings and cover photo: MotoGP.com
