The press conference ahead of the Italian Grand Prix brought together Marc Márquez, Andrea Dovizioso, Valentino Rossi, Danilo Petrucci, Jack Miller and Lorenzo Baldassarri.
As usual, we report here the raw words of Marc Marquez, without the slightest journalistic interpretation.
You arrive with a victory at Le Mans and with an 8-point lead in the championship. With the exception of Qatar, no one has beaten you in hand-to-hand combat this year: Your confidence must be at its maximum?
Marc Márquez : " Yes. Obviously, from Qatar to Le Mans, we continued to progress and we arrive here at Mugello with a very good feeling. I'm comfortable with the way I ride the bike now. We know that Mugello is one of the circuits where we have suffered a bit in the past, but we have also had some very good races. Last year we weren't that bad and we had a really good pace but we crashed in the race. We will see this year, with another base, another motorcycle and another engine. It should be better but anyway, we will try to start well from FP1, analyze everything and fight for the podium on Sunday.”
Do you think the battle for victory will be very close, and not just you against the Ducatis?
" Yes. In 2014 it was a great victory and in 2016 I lost in the final stretch. But since then, in 2017 and 2018, I suffered a lot trying to manage the front tire. This year the allocation has changed and it should be better, especially since it seems that we can manage the front tire in a different way this year. We will therefore try to be competitive from the start. This is the way to do it, and we will just try to analyze our opponents. We know that it is important here for Ducati and for the Italian riders, and that they would like to win the race because it is important for them. But anyway, for me it's just another race and we lead the championship, which is the most important thing. So we will try to stay focused on our goal.”
What do you think of Lorenzo Baldassarri?
“I have known Balda since the Spanish championship because he fought against my brother there. Certainly, he is having a very good season. Of course, I support my brother and try to help him and make him understand what he (Baldassarri) is doing in a good way. It's true that he has a particular riding style, and even regarding his position on the bike since he is very tall. But regardless, he has the speed and will be a tough opponent for Álex. But we try to understand what he does better, to help Álex.”
Everyone says that this circuit is fantastic but we saw Dovizioso ride there a lot, Marc fall there at high speed and last year Pirro suffered a very big fall. Have we not reached our limits in MotoGP?
“We have already spoken about this to the Safety Commission because it is a very beautiful circuit, a circuit which takes a natural layout and where it is very pleasant to drive, but which has only one critical point, the straight line. We are thinking about it and already, between 2013 and 2014, we moved the wall away because it was very close. And we talked about changing the bump a little bit because it's right where we brake, which causes the bikes to steer there. We thought about it and we talked about it, but we know that the bikes are getting faster and faster every year, and I think we will have to do something in the future at this place. We’ll have to make it flatter, because if it’s flatter, it’ll be safer and it’ll be the same for the show.”
Honda has worked a lot on your engine since last year to improve its performance. How important will this be to beat the Ducati in their backyard?
“Yes, of course, Honda works a lot and one of the things where they have worked the most is the engine because it was a weak point compared to the Ducati. We did that and, of course, we then tried to compensate in other ways, and we tried to build a bike to win the championship. We know that here at Mugello maybe it's not the best track for us, but we come this year with a completely different base and a different engine, so we'll see. We hope it works better but ultimately our goal is to try to win the championship. And we have already verified that on 5 different circuits; our base was good, the level was there, whether in the dry or the wet. So yes, we have more torque, but we control that torque and that’s the most important thing.”
You seem a little ill. Could this affect this weekend?
“But we won’t change our plan. And my opponents are there around me, and it floats in the air (laughs). Yes, I'm sick today, as you can see on my face, but I think I'll be better tomorrow.”
Do you have a few words to comment on the MotoGP eSport championship?
“Commenting on the final of the eSport MotoGP championship was a good and interesting experience because you feel that it is like a real race. And in the end, it's a real race for them and the pressure is there. This was good because it was very impressive: I play the PlaySation sometimes and it was good to see how accurate they were. They even tune the bike! It’s good but these kinds of events are getting bigger and bigger, so it will be important in the future.”
Photo credit: MotoGP.com
