Even if victory eluded him, Marquez nevertheless carried out a very good operation by closing to two points of the second in the provisional classification Maverick Vinales and four of the leader Rossi.
Qualified in the middle of the first row of the starting grid between the two other Hondas of Dani Pedrosa et Cal Crutchlow, Marc quickly took second position behind his teammate. He lost this second place when Johann zarco overtook him in the fourth round.
Marquez quickly recovered this second position, and did his best to try to get back on the leader. But Pedrosa resisted brilliantly. Thus Pedrosa and Márquez achieved exactly the same time on the seventeenth lap: 1'40.879. But Dani had already widened an appreciable gap thanks to an excellent start to the race, for example with the fastest lap during the third pass in 1'40.243.
Finishing in second position was therefore not ideal for Marquez, but the poor form of the factory Yamahas in Jerez allowed him to get back into the title race.
According to Marc Marquez, “ I'm happy with second place today in Jerez, a track which is not among my favorites, and to have been able to be competitive. Fighting at a high level is very positive.
“Today Dani was very fast, as he has been all weekend, in the wet and the dry. We got closer and closer, but it was hard to keep up. Today I tried to push, to put pressure on him, but even before the race I knew that Dani was very strong here. It is also very good when the conditions are really hot like today, because for me the front tire is too soft. I mean I chose the harder option today, but even so it was too tender for me.
“I tried to manage throughout the race, and I attacked. At the end I had a few dicey moments, so I checked where Valentino and Vinales were and I was like, okay, second place is good.
“I'm very happy with the result, to be only four points behind and to be back in the battle for the Championship. Things are going to be very interesting. We must continue to work as we have done so far. I dedicate this good result to my mother, because today is Mother's Day. »
#SpanishGP MotoGP Race: Ranking
1. Dani Pedrosa ESP Repsol Honda Team (RC213V) 45m 26.827s
2. Marc Marquez ESP Repsol Honda Team (RC213V) 45m 32.963s
3. Jorge Lorenzo ESP Ducati Team (Desmosedici GP17) 45m 41.594s
4. Johann Zarco FRA Monster Yamaha Tech 3 (YZR-M1)* 45m 44.428s
5. Andrea Dovizioso ITA Ducati Team (Desmosedici GP17) 45m 49.740s
6. Maverick Vinales ESP Movistar Yamaha MotoGP (YZR-M1) 45m 51.383s
7. Danilo Petrucci ITA Octo Pramac Racing (Desmosedici GP17) 45m 51.786s
8. Jonas Folger GER Monster Yamaha Tech 3 (YZR-M1)* 45m 54.548s
9. Aleix Espargaro ESP Factory Aprilia Gresini (RS-GP) 45m 58.060s
10. Valentino Rossi ITA Movistar Yamaha MotoGP (YZR-M1) 46m 5.509s
11. Scott Redding GBR Octo Pramac Racing (Desmosedici GP16) 46m 7.806s
12. Hector Barbera ESP Reale Avintia Racing (Desmosedici GP16) 46m 10.026s
13. Loris Baz FRA Reale Avintia Racing (Desmosedici GP15) 46m 10.038s
14. Bradley Smith GBR Red Bull KTM Factory Racing (RC16) 46m 14.791s
15. Karel Abraham CZE Pull&Bear Aspar Team (Desmosedici GP15) 46m 18.106s
16. Sam Lowes GBR Factory Aprilia Gresini (RS-GP)* 46m 35.712s
17. Takuya Tsuda JPN Team Suzuki Ecstar (GSX-RR) 46m 54.277s
