The conference held after the MotoGP British Grand Prix at the Silverstone circuit welcomed Álex Rins, Marc Márquez and Maverick Viñales.
As usual, we report here the raw words of Marc Marquez, without the slightest journalistic interpretation.
Marc Márquez : “of course, it was a very good race today for me in terms of the championship. 20 more points and we were in the lead the whole race. In the middle of the race, I just tried to play a little to preserve the tire, and I let him pass and then tried to follow him. But I saw that he was slowing down even more and I said to myself "OK, I'll keep attacking" because I knew that Viñales was coming back very, very quickly. With 2 laps to go, he showed me where he was going to attack, in the last corner, but hey, I had no more grip so I tried to defend very, very hard under braking, which was my strong point. In the last corner I tried to go even more inside and I was very fast, but suddenly the two-wheelers started to slide. You then have 2 options, continue and try to win the race or fall. I then told myself that we were going to be a little more careful and I closed the throttle a little. But yes, Rins had a fantastic last lap and that was the main problem of the race. But for me it is very important that on a circuit where we suffered a lot last year, we were still there to fight for victory. »
The accident at the start had a great effect on the first group. Did you know what happened behind it and did it have an influence on your race?
“The strategy for the race was very “easy” but very precise. My strategy was not to have the best tactics to win the race, but simply to have the best strategy to make the leading group smaller. Because then you can only lose fewer points. I know that by leading the race you wear out your tires more, you ask more of your physical condition, you use more fuel, but regardless the objective was to take a lot of points for the championship. That was the main objective: to lead the race and attack, attack, attack to try to get a small group in the lead. And that's what I did ! At the end there was me and Rins, and of course he was fresher in the last lap, but the goal was already achieved. Then, in the end, I tried. It wasn't possible but the most important thing is to have 20 more points for the championship: we arrived with 58 and we leave with 78. But above all, it's a shame because Dovi gave up again not by his mistake. I like having opponents on the track and it's a shame for Dovizioso, but I wish him the best because it was a terrible fall on the head. »
Why was your rear tire much more damaged than Alex Rins'?
“Yes, of course, one of my strong points is braking, but to brake very very late, I use both tires. Another thing is that I was leading the race the whole time today on a very fast circuit, and when you're in front you stress the tire a lot more because you have to push a lot more to get the same speed. passing the bend. I knew it would be like this and I completely understood what I was doing. Maybe in another situation I would have stayed behind and attacked in the last 2 turns, but my strategy was clear from the beginning: attack every turn and try to play at the end. The strategy was to make the group smaller but I knew that for that I would use the rear tire more. »
Álex looked like he could go just about anywhere. Was this much more difficult to defend than against Dovizioso?
“It was of course difficult to defend because I didn't know where his weak points were, but when I tried to apply my strategy in the middle of the race, to follow him for a few laps to preserve the tire, to save money gasoline and knowing where he was struggling, he slowed down further. We then lost almost a second in one lap and I saw that Maverick was coming back. So I said to myself "OK, it doesn't matter what the victory is, I'm only interested in the points." . I knew that if I stayed there, I could only take 16 points in this race whereas if I attacked, I could take 25 or 20. So I continued to attack, attack, attack, and be in front the whole race. My strategy in 2017 and 2016 was to stay behind then attack in the last 5 laps: you then finish with tires in better condition. Now the situation is different in the championship and to achieve the final victory you need to lose a few battles. Today it was very, very close, but that's how it is. »
What happened in the victory lap and when was the last time it happened to you?
“I ran out of gas and this had never happened to me. But this time it was a good job: when you lead the whole race, you use more fuel. I wasn't able to get the extra torque I could have gotten with more gas, but that's how it was. That was the goal. »
It's very rational to say you won 20 points, but you just lost 2 races in a row going into the final corner. Which bothers you more: this one or the one from 2 weeks ago?
“Yes, I have a winning mentality and even if I lose at the Playstation, I am angry. So of course it bothers me to lose in the last corner, but that's how it is. It's a circuit where we are suffering and we can say that we are in the worst part of the championship, at the worst time, with two consecutive races with the worst results on the calendar: 2nd! (Laughs) That's something that can happen, but like I said before on Thursday, it's not the same thing to fight or use a strategy with nothing to lose, or just be more conservative. This doesn't mean I can attack more or less, but it does mean that if you have nothing to lose, you can have a different strategy and save more on the tire. But my current goal is not to win races, my goal is to win the championship, and with this kind of strategy we increase our lead and that is the most important thing. »
Which bothers you more: this one or the one from 2 weeks ago?
“Maybe the one from 2 weeks ago because he scored more points for the championship. Today, of course, it bothers me because it's more or less the same way, and I increased my lead by 20 points in the championship. So it was worse 2 weeks ago. »
Marc, did you use different maps during the race or just the same one all the time?
“No, no, no, I’ve changed. I played with everything: with the fuel map, with the engine braking, with the torque, with everything. I tried to give my best at every moment but I started with a rather aggressive map because my strategy was to attack a lot at the start, because I knew that if I took a second at the start I would escape. I couldn't do it, the feeling wasn't the best, and we played until the end. »
MotoGP British Grand Prix standings:
Credit rankings and photo: MotoGP.com
