Marquez: I know Fabio will push, if he crashes and hits me I will understand
Of course, no rider wants to make contact, let alone suffer a crash that could take out another rider, however, Quartararo is facing a must-win situation in Sunday’s race that could lead to potential mistakes.
For the Yamaha rider to win the title he must win and Francesco Bagnaia be 15th or lower.
- Bagnaia outlines plan if Quartararo is “close to me” - he won’t rely on Miller
- Crutchlow warning to Bagnaia: Riders have nothing to lose, don’t care who’s who
So while a clean race is what Marquez wants, not least because he is expected to be a challenger for the win, the eight-time world champion won’t hold grudges if Quartararo was to cause an incident.
"I know that Fabio tomorrow will push a lot and he must push," said Marquez. "If he crashes and he hits another rider - if he hits me I will understand [everyone laughs]. I don’t want, but I understand because he is fighting for a world championship, not a race.
"I know that he is smart and he must attack. Everybody will attack and Ducati riders will attack more because it’s the best way to help the leader that is Pecco.
"But I want to do a good race and at the end of the day the two guys are Fabio and Pecco. Everybody will pay attention to these two guys."
Marquez wasn’t alone in offering his thoughts on the matter, as Jack Miller said he would prefer being at the front no matter what after spending parts of the Malaysian MotoGP in a battle with the likes of Darryn Binder, Cal Crutchlow and Remy Gardner, which he called ‘chaos'.
Miller stated: "In my case it can’t be worse than last week. I was back there with Darryn, Cal, Remy and it’s chaos back there. So being where I am now can’t be worse than last week."
Marquez ‘very happy’ with physical condition, promises to attack in Valencia MotoGP
As stated above, Marquez appears to have the pace to fight for the win, which has been made easier by securing second on the grid in qualifying.
Part of his stunning performance in Q2 was because his physical condition has continued to take steps forward in recent weeks, so much so that he feels ready to go on the attack.
"About my physical condition I’m very, very happy. The target when I came back was to try and improve my right arm during all the races and I feel a lot [the improvement] when I stay at home for one week.," added Marquez.
"This weekend I’m riding a normal way. It’s true that sometimes I’m still using a different riding style, not exactly like before, but the lap time is coming.
"It’s true that with Honda we are also working hard to improve that front feeling. I’m riding fast but I don’t feel under control every lap.
"Tomorrow is the time to attack. When you attack and take the risk then sometimes the consequences are not the one you like. But I feel free and with nothing to lose. I will try to manage well and be on the podium."
