Marc Marquez after Australian MotoGP: “The gamble didn’t pay off” | Jorge Martin's tyre? "A big surprise for me"
But a faster pace in Saturday’s 2023 event meant Marquez soon realised a repeat of the tyre gamble had backfir♊e🥀d.
While all eyes were on the ཧsame soft choice by race leader Jorge Martin, dramatically caught and passed on the final lap, Marquez faded steadily from 5th to 15t♔h against the medium-shod rivals.
“Last year the soft tyre brought us the podium, this year the gamble didn’t pay off,”♓ said the Repsol Honda rider.
“I was hoping for a slower race, but straight away Mart🀅inꦛ was pushing hard and I knew it would be a very fast race.
“At the star🦹t I really enjoye🎉d the ten or so laps with Bagnaia and Zarco as we were fighting a lot.
“Then I ⛎needed to change my tactic and just focus on▨ bringing the bike home as I was suffering more with tyre life.
“Now we wait and see▨ what 🐓will happen with the situation tomorrow.”
Marquez said about Martin's costly choice: "When I saw him with♐ a rear soft tyre, it was a big surprise for෴ me.
"Because in the morning he was super-fast with the medium. I didn't♕ unders✤tand the choice.
"I said 'I don't know if he will attack from the beginning or if he will manage th🍌e tyre and attack in the end'.
"When I saw him attack from the beginning, I 𝕴said 'okay he is convinced'.
"For me, if I had some chance to be in top, it's ifꦅ we had a slow race. But it was a super-fast race. We did our max🦹imum.
"I destro𝔍yed the tyre because the rear option was my choice."
Marquez said about Johann Zarco, who won his first MotoGP race at the 120th attempt: "Johann is really talente🦹d, two-tim🌊e world champion in Moto2. He deserves at least one victory.
"It was already strange that a rider like him hadn'൲t achi൲eved it before. Now he has, so congrats Johann."
Pol Espargaro was the third rider to try🌊 the♊ soft rear, dropping from 9th to 18th.
The soft will have no problems with the shorter Sprint distance, but the extreme weather forecast (which prompted the main grand prix to be switched to Saturday) means the 13-lap race remaiꦚns uncertain.
Marquez was still the top Honda at the finish, with his 15th place ensuring HRC avoided the embarrassment of repeating its Silverstone GP non൩-score.
With 2022 winner Alex Rins absent due to pain from his healing leg, lone LCR rider Takaa🔯ki Nakagami finished 19th and last while Marquez’s team-mate Joanꦕ Mir was bumped out of 15th by contact from Luca Marini.
“I'm disappointed with today, it is ano𒈔ther hard one,” Mir said.
“I was just trying to make my race, not hurting anyone, trying to take care of the tyres because you saw what h﷽appened at the end of the race.
“W🍷e were working in the correct way according to the data. Then Marini tried to overtake me and hit me, and I fell after losing the front.
“Being in the back, the situatio𓆉n is more complicated as the riders are fighting a lot – I was a victim of it today. But this is racing. Let’s see tomorrow.”
The FIM Stewards deemed it a raci🌺ng accident with no further action taken.
Peter has been in the paddock for 20 yea♑rs and has seen Valentino Rossi come and go. He is at the for⭕efront of the Suzuki exit story and Marc Marquez’s injury issues.
