By Luigi Ciamburro / Corsedimoto.com
Marc Márquez looked back on his 2018 season and spoke about his new teammate Jorge Lorenzo, his rivals Valentino Rossi and Andrea Dovizioso as well as Francesco Bagnaia, on whom he is banking in 2019.
Marc Márquez concluded this MotoGP season with nine victories and four podiums. The result of all this is a fifth title in six years of career in the premier category, an incomparable record, or almost. Only Valentino Rossi managed to do as well during his first six years, but number 93 does not seem to have any rivals at the moment.
After a podium in Qatar and a blank result in Argentina, he began to string together successes (Austin, Jerez and Le Mans) before making a mistake at Mugello. “I made a few mistakes, like the others. I am still young " he told Sky Sport. “It happened to me at Mugello and Valencia, where I didn't listen to the tire choice. When there is pressure from the World Cup we choose the same tires as our opponents. Conversely, I fell and I must draw conclusions from it. » This time, the Spanish driver approached the championship with a different attitude and being more relaxed, like an already experienced champion: “This season taught me not to be stressed. In 2017 I won but there was too much stress inside me. This time I remained calm from the start. »
There are always things to learn, from rivals and teammates. MotoGP is also a sport of observation, of studying the details and secrets of others. What would the HRC phenomenon like to have from its opponents? “From Valentino, his experience. During the weekend he has difficulty but on Sunday he always has something extra, I don't know where he finds it. From Dovizioso, his clean and precise style. This is very important in MotoGP. From Lorenzo, his speed when passing curves. » From Jorge, he will be able to learn much more… “On a technical level he will be able to say a little about how the Ducati works, which is one of the most competitive bikes in the Championship. This is the advantage when our teammate arrives from another team. On aerodynamics, Ducati is ahead, they are always trying different things. »
During the Valencia and Jerez tests, the two men shared their opinions on the RC213V. Both highlighted certain weak points of the Honda, a detail to take into account in order to continue the development of the prototype. For the moment, his relations with the Majorcan are calm but we will have to wait for the track to manage the tensions: “Our relationship is good. On the track, no one is anyone's friend, that's logical, but off the track our relationship is professional. With Dani Pedrosa, my relationship was incredible, but on the track we clashed a bit in 2013 and 2014 because we were at the same level. Outside, we spent a lot of days together, especially for Repsol events, so you have to have a good relationship. »
His rivals next year will be almost the same, but the Spaniard is keeping an eye on the Moto2 Champion: “The surprise will come from Francesco Bagnaia. Maybe not from the first race, but he will be strong. There will also be the Ducatis. Petrucci was strong in the tests but Dovizioso is more dangerous. The Yamahas will be there, my teammate as well, without forgetting the Suzuki of Álex Rins. »
Marc Márquez will set out to conquer his eighth career title in 2019, but don't tell him about Giacomo Agostini's 15 crowns... “No driver of our time will beat Agostini. But one day another young driver stronger than me will arrive. That's life. For now we will try to win again and then we will see where we end up. »
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Auteur: Luigi Ciamburro
