After a long-awaited victory in Aragon, the Grand Prix MotoGP from San Marino brought a second one to Misano, more surprising, un Marc Marquez who now begins to talk about the world title, 53 points behind the leader Jorge Martin, while 259 can still be attributed...
As usual, we report here his words during his debriefing, without the slightest formatting, even if it is translated from English.
Hello, welcome to the Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli, welcome to the post-race press conference, after a spectacular Red Bull San Marino Grand Prix. Top 3, another Ducati podium for the 400th MotoGP race in the four-stroke era. What a place to do it for Gresini Racing's Marc Marquez! Marc, back-to-back wins in 2024. Second place, a double second place here, in front of his home crowd, for Ducati Lenovo Team rider Peco Bagnaia, and to complete today's podium, Ducati Lenovo Team rider Enea Bastianini. Gentlemen, congratulations to all three, it was a really tricky and demanding 27-lap race.
Marc, we're going to start the press conference with you. It seems like there were two key points in this race. First, the way you were able to attack and assess the conditions when the rain was falling, and then the strength you had in the second part of the race. Again, congratulations. 1043 days without a win, then twice in the space of seven days. But it was hard work…
Marc Marquez : “Yes, of course, we knew it, and during the whole weekend we had the pace of the best, but the start in ninth position was… Enea and I were super penalized in the first laps. But when there was water on the visor and water on the track, that's when I decided to attack, or take more risks, and in one lap I overtook 5 riders and I was able to take the lead of the race. And from there it was OK, "now I'm in the lead", but for me the best surprise was the second part of the race, when I did the fastest lap of the race, when I had a very good pace, I was fluid, I was losing where I was losing in practice and I was winning where I was winning in practice. So yes, the feeling was super good. And this victory is super important for the whole Gresini team, and I want to dedicate it to them, and above all pay a nice tribute to Fausto."
Marc, of course, we have seen in the past that you are a master at judging rapidly changing conditions. When you saw Jorge Martin coming into the pit lane from second place, did it cross your mind for a second to follow him or were you convinced to stay away?
"I mean Martin's strategy wasn't completely crazy, because if in that lap there had always been the same amount of water, then he would have had the best strategy. But it's true that I said I would follow the local guys (laughs), and the local guys stayed on track. So they know better than me and I said if they stayed on track, I stayed on track, and all the Italian riders stayed on track, so... (laughs)"
Marc, we all thought that at some point you must have laughed inside your helmet when you saw that the conditions were starting to get closer to those of Marc Marquez. Did you think the same thing?
“Yes, of course, after the mistake we made in qualifying, it was the only possibility, to have these kinds of conditions, because as you saw in the first laps, me and Enea were stuck behind Binder, and only in those 3-4 laps, Pecco and Martin were already starting to open up a gap. And yes, and at that moment I said “OK, this is the moment to take a risk, there is nothing to lose”. And this time it went well, but you often have to take risks, and even in these conditions with a slick I have already crashed. But today I managed to stay on the bike.”
On Thursday you said that you had not yet had time to digest the victory in Aragon. Is it possible to compare these two victories, because the one in Aragon came after a long time, but you had the pace throughout the weekend, whereas here you made a mistake in Q2, so you needed to come back today. Can you compare the emotions?
“The emotion there (Aragon), it was the first, but I realized during the weekend that this one is even more important for me, not because it is the last, but because it took place with normal conditions on a normal circuit with normal grip. So throughout the weekend I was fast, I was always in the top three or four on lap times, and that is the most important for the future races. It is true that if we want to fight, and I keep the same mentality, if we want to fight for the championship, I have to improve these small mistakes that remain, yeah, because starting in 9th place we cannot expect rain every Sunday. So, yes, let's work on these points.”
How much information did you get on the grid about what was expected rain-wise, with your team watching the rain radar?
“I asked my team and Frankie before the race started and he said the forecast said ‘no’ but ‘maybe something could happen’. But yeah, I mean when they say ‘maybe something could happen’ it means light rain but you never know in these conditions because it’s only a little bit more, a little bit less. I mean you saw Franco Morbidelli in the first corner, he was up front and it was quite wet. But like I said, and it wasn’t a joke, I was following the local guys and they knew better than me.”
Marc, this is a bit of a silly question, but can you tell us about the differences between the person who wins this year and the person who won in 2019, whether physically or mentally?
“Honestly, physically it’s worse, because in 2019 my body was more or less OK. Of course, now it’s pretty good and I’m showing on the race track that I can beat with the best guys, but of course we need to work a little bit more at home. And mentally I’m starting to feel stronger and stronger, and Aragon, the Red Bull Ring and this race give me confidence. You know, Aragon has always been a good circuit for me, but today here, leading the race, opening a gap, you know, sometimes you forget what that feeling is, and today I was able to do it.”
You were talking about how you are getting better and better. There are still a lot of points to win, I think 259. Last weekend we asked you where you were in the championship fight. You crashed several times in the sprints because you didn't think it was a Grand Prix. But what are your chances of winning the championship?
“I have more chances than last week, because I am closer (laughs), but I keep the same mentality. If I want to fight with these two guys, I have to not make small mistakes in the sprint, in qualifying, in Friday practice. So we will see. This weekend I felt great, and of course, that mistake in qualifying can happen. But apart from that, yes, the confidence you have when you feel you are fast and you are close to them, is bigger and bigger. There will be circuits where we will have difficulties, yes, but I can imagine, and I hope, that some races in Asia will be held in the rain, so everything will be more open and anything can happen.”
We talked about team communication. Not only on the dashboards, but also the teams talking to the riders. Today, could this have been an ideal situation or could it have been beneficial for the riders?
“Hmm… In these conditions, and more precisely in today’s conditions, it’s the rider who decides! Because even if we don’t know, for the team it’s impossible to know how the track is. So it’s the rider who decides, by feeling. Of course, if the track goes from wet to dry, the team’s communication can be useful because it can tell you if someone is faster, if it’s time to go in, if it’s time to go out. But when it comes to going from dry to wet, it’s the riders who decide.”
Would it be good for the show?
"For the show, yes, for the main part of the sport, no. But sometimes we are there for the show.
So yes, it will be more interesting for people at home."
Marc, at the beginning of the season everyone was talking about the gap between the GP23 and the GP24. Now, since Austria, you say you have a very good feeling, so have you equalized the advantage that the GP24 had before, and what is your potential for races abroad?
“Yes, of course, it seems that in the first part of the championship we were very close to them, then we had some difficulties, but we can’t forget that this is my first year with this bike and this is my first year with the technicians and this is my first year with the team, and sometimes it takes time to know which direction to take. And yes, we stayed in that direction with a basic setup, then we changed my riding style a little bit and I started to feel better and better. Especially at Silverstone, where I had a lot of difficulties, we decided to make a big change and then find another way and I started to feel better and better. Yes, I know I will have difficulties on some circuits, but it seems that at the moment, with this basic setup, I am closer to them.”
Marc, as you said, this is the third race in a row where you feel very fast and very competitive. I would like to know when is the last time you felt this competitive in this many races in a row. I mean, do you think about 2019, the last time you felt this consistent?
“1921 was not bad. There was a period when Aragon, Austin and Misano were not bad. But it is true that with the normal conditions we had this weekend, it was in 2019, even if 19 was still a step further. But I feel that I can play with my body, I am starting to play more with the bike. There are still some weak points, for example in turn 11-12 Pecco is super fast and we have to understand that for the next weekend, not to be faster than him, but to be close to him. So yes, there are still points to discover, but every time you have more confidence, you are able to play better with your body and be faster.”
Marc, two years ago Enea had a lot of support from Ducati at Gresini, a lot of parts in development during the season: do you have the same support in the development of your bike?
"I have the same support as the other riders in GP 23, exactly the same."
In 2017 you won here in the rain against Dovizioso, a crucial battle for the championship: is this victory as important and crucial as the one in 2017?
"It's true that it was a super important victory. In this case it was completely different because I was even fighting in a different way and I was leading, I think, the championship."
You had the same points, 199, as Dovizioso….
“OK, so yes, but for now we are far, always far. Even if the two guys in front of us make a mistake, we are always behind, and far. So yes, as Pecco said, this championship is super long, but if you have this 50-point advantage, it is better than if you don’t have it, but my goal, and it is the most important for me, is that this victory gives me confidence to continue and believe even more in the bike, and especially to prepare well for next year.”
You have already done 26 races with the Ducati. Do you ride it naturally or do you sometimes unconsciously return to the Honda?
“It’s true that there are some races that I started riding… for example, when we rode in Austin, even in the left turns I didn’t feel confident, but now, at this point in the championship, I’m starting to feel like when I started riding like Honda, it’s my riding style. But I’m still losing in some right turns. I’m starting to lose less and less, I’m starting to get closer to Pecco who is the fastest in that area, so yeah, let’s see if we can continue in that direction.”
Regarding tomorrow's test, what will be your plan? Do you have anything new to try for the end of the season?
“No, we have some settings that Frankie and the team have worked out, and we also have some electronic settings that we are trying to understand, but we just have to prepare well for Misano 2.”
Actually, on a race like today, when the rain starts to fall, and on a track like this with these very fast right-handers, how can you judge how much you need to reduce the pace when you enter these corners?
“When you have someone in front it’s easy, but when I was leading the race the hardest part was understanding, especially the white lines and the kerbs.”
MotoGP Misano Marc Marquez victory 
MotoGP Misano Marc Marquez victory
Classification credit: MotoGP.com
MotoGP Misano Marc Marquez victory
MotoGP Misano Marc Marquez victory
MotoGP Misano Marc Marquez victory
