The press conference held after qualifying for the Thai Grand Prix at the Chang Circuit in Buriram brought together Fabio Quartararo, Maverick Viñales, Marc Márquez, Álex Márquez and Celestino Vietti.
As usual, we report here the raw words of Marc Marquez, without the slightest journalistic interpretation.
Marc, you had a big fall yesterday and another small one today. We're sure you're a little disappointed not to be in pole position, but in reality your goal is the championship and you have a great chance of securing another title tomorrow. So you must be happy with this first line…
Marc Márquez : “yes, of course, I am happy with this day. I'm happy with the weekend. Unfortunately I crashed in FP1 and today my body is quite sore, but that's neither a problem nor an excuse for today and tomorrow. So I can drive normally and that's the most important thing. Yes, we worked hard in FP4. Unfortunately, I suffered a second crash in QP2 with the second tire when I was initially better, but I knew that these two guys (Fabio Quartararo and Maverick Viñales) were very, very fast with new tires. Yes, I tried but it wasn't possible. But apart from that, we prepared well for the race. Tomorrow will be the time to concentrate during the warmup. The race is quite long and physically demanding, but we will try to do our best. »
How did you feel this morning, after yesterday's fall?
“(Laughs) When I woke up this morning and got out of bed, it was pretty hard (laughs). Then, when the body is warm, it's perfect and I have no problem. We'll see tomorrow how the weather is and what the conditions are, but from these two guys I know Dovi has good pace, so it's going to be a tough race. »
You crashed after doing your fastest lap, like Fabio Quartararo. Was it because the grip was decreasing?
“For me it was different (from Fabio Quartararo) but the grip was OK. I just had a spin in turn four and then when I got to turn five the pads had come apart. I braked but I couldn't do it the same way and I entered the corner with more speed. I knew it and I realized it, but it was the last lap and I tried anyway. As soon as I was at the braking point, I already understood that I had a high chance of falling. »
You crashed at turn five, Valentino Rossi crashed at turn five and Fabio Quartararo crashed at turn five. Does this shift need to be improved?
“As Fabio said, there's a little bump there, and I fell on it, but the problem wasn't the bump: it was my fault. »
You can be titled tomorrow. What kind of race are you going to do?
“We are trying to manage this weekend like a normal weekend: we work, we attack and we try to prepare for the race to have a chance to fight for victory. But we know that these two guys are going to attack a lot, one because he is looking for his first victory and the other because he wants to get back to the top of the podium, but that is not our main objective. My main goal is to be on the podium, once again, on another Sunday, and if it's in front of Dovi, that's much better. »
MotoGP Thailand Grand Prix Q2 standings:
MotoGP Thailand Grand Prix Q1 standings:
Credit rankings and photo: MotoGP.com
