On Sunday June 27, 2021, Marc Márquez answered questions from journalists from the Assen circuit, following the Dutch Grand Prix.
We went to listen (via teleconferencing software) to the words of the Spanish driver, author of his second best result since his return to competition with a seventh place finish. A ranking which was far from certain after two falls earlier in the weekend (including an impressive highside on Friday) and a poor 20th place in qualifying.
As usual, we report here the words of Marc Márquez without the slightest formatting.
After your big accident on Friday and the one that occurred during qualifying, this seventh place sounds a bit like a victory. Is this your feeling?
" That It was clearly not an easy weekend, especially with this big accident on Friday. Physically, especially yesterday, it was quite difficult. But the first thing I did when returning to the garage was to thank the whole team and all the HRC engineers, because on Friday I was very angry with what happened, and day by day they did an incredible job and modified several things in terms of electronics. »
" It was important to regain confidence. So this quick reaction was a good help, and I felt better on the bike, more secure. Afterwards it’s true that my fall yesterday was more my fault. Today it was difficult to fully understand the race starting from the last row of the grid. I attacked a lot at the beginning, and I lost a lot of energy, but then I was impressed by my performance throughout the race, and even proud, I must say, because it is the first race contested on a circuit turning right where I finished well. It is certain that physically I suffered more, because this track is very demanding from a physical point of view. The bike had the potential to finish on the podium, and that's something that makes me happy. »
« La bike had the potential to finish on the podium »
Can you tell us more about the improvements made to the electronics?
" I have had a conference call with Japan as well as the testing team, and they found various settings that were not optimized. The fact that here we had a new asphalt provided a higher grip than usual, and maybe sometimes the TC [Traction Control] went too far. This is typically what happened on Friday. »
" They came back to certain parameters which allowed me to regain a lot of confidence, and then I started to drive very well, especially with the worn tyres. During the first part of the race I actually had the feeling that I was driving well but that I was not comfortable. But during the second part I improved in terms of corner exits, and this is due to the improvements linked to the electronics. »
A long summer break is coming [five weeks before the next round, which will be held at the beginning of August at the Red Bull Ring in Austria, editor's note]. What do you and the team have planned for the bike for Austria?
" Already, I'm going to take a break for at least a week and a half. It's a need that I feel both from a physical point of view and from a mental point of view, and even more so for the latter. I need to rest. I had surgery on my shoulder, then on my arm. It's been almost two years since I had a vacation, so I really need it right now. »
« Le new chassis was clearly an improvement »
" I I'm going to have a good time with friends, and then I'll have plenty of time to work. My plan, if my arm allows it, is to get back behind the handlebars because until now I have taken the Grands Prix one after the other. But here I would really like to ride for the Austrian GP. For its part, the HRC works a lot. We received this weekend the first item that works well, which is the chassis that I used in the race, and it was clearly an improvement. So this gives us extra motivation, especially for engineers, because in their case if the improvements ultimately turn out not to be improvements, then it's easy to be discouraged. »
MotoGP Assen – Race standings
Classification credit: MotoGP.com
