Marc Marquez clarifies “misunderstanding” - “It was not a crash!”
Marc Marquez explains why initial suggestions that he crashed were wrong.
While the timing screens suggested Marc Marquez suffered his first Ducati crash during day one of the Sepang test, he later revealed it didn't happen.
A message on the official timing stated Marquez had a fall at Turn 15, midway through the first of three days of MotoGP testing in Malaysia.
But the new Gresini rider later insisted: “In the final corner, they called it a crash but it was not a crash!
“It was a technical issue. I went in the gravel. But straight, not crash!
“Apart from that I had a problem in Turn 9, a save.
“I went in the box. There are some tricks with the Ducati which they explained to me.
“I said: ‘What is going on there?’
“They explained to me something I need to learn. I had confidence, I jammed the gear, and I had that moment.”
He added in an interview with Dorna: “No, it was a misunderstanding. It was not a small crash. It was just another issue on the bike. Then I stopped again.
“It will arrive, a crash, but this was not the day!”
Gigi Dall’Igna, the Ducati Corse boss, was spotted in the Gresini garage as the team and factory technical staff worked to solve repeated technical problems that dogged Marquez’s opening day.
“One of the secrets of Ducati is that they take care of all the bikes,” Marquez said.
“Of course, the factory riders, they will be more in the box. But if you had an issue, a problem, they take care of all the riders.
“This is one of the secrets. It’s the way to learn, to fix the problem for all the bikes.”
The first day of testing for Marquez in Sepang did not go smoothly.
He was ninth-fastest, +0.670s off the pace-setter Jorge Martin, and experienced a few technical problems.
“Today was a busy day, a strange day,” Marquez said. “We had, with the team, many issues.
“But the good thing is that the team reacted in a good way. They fixed everything.
“But everything that [could have happened], happened today. We were not able to work in a good way.
“In the last hour of the afternoon was when we did some laps in a row. We started to feel better with the bike.
“Most importantly, this was the first day of testing, and the team worked in a good way and fixed [the problems] in a very professional way.
“Today I worked a bit with the foot rest. It was the one that I felt most uncomfortable. There was a plan to work with the handlebars but there wasn’t time. We worked on the rear brake, maybe I can improve there.
“The front brake, also, we worked on a lot. It’s one of the points where I take the most care [with] the feeling.
“It’s understanding the way to ride. How I can adapt to the bike, how the bike can adapt to me.
“The bike is very different. In the end, for a rider, when you ride well in a circuit, it will be good for any bike.
“When you struggle - I struggle here in Malaysia in my history - the feeling is different.”
One of the key differences since Marquez swapped Honda for Ducati will be the ability to share data among eight bikes, many of whom are expected to fight at the front.
“To compare with other Ducatis? Some corners I am the same, some corners I am a bit slow,” Marquez said.
“Now, I need to adjust and understand what they are doing.
“You always look for quality laps but today I was not able to. It was the first rhythm. It is the first day, I have two more days to adapt myself to the bike.
“With Honda, the data was open. But to have more bikes…
“Today I didn’t compare. Just one lap with Jorge Martin, just to understand what he was doing because he was the fastest Ducati.
“Still, I was super far in some parts of the track.
“I started to work with the set-up and not worry about the others. I was riding with a standard Ducati set-up, I didn’t touch anything.
“Frankie Carchedi, my new technician, needs to understand me. And I need to understand Frankie too.”
Unlike Valencia where Marquez shone at the postseason test, Sepang is not a track that the eight-time world champion particularly excels at.
“Here, the riding style changes a lot,” Marquez said. “The way to open the gas, the way to use the lines, is very different.
“I was used to riding one way with Honda here. The way to ride a Ducati here, to take the maximum profit, is completely different.
“In the morning I was riding with a Honda style. The bike was shaking, struggling. In the afternoon I started to understand better.
“With Honda, you use a lot the front. With Ducati, you use the rear.
“I was used to riding with the front, there was a massive pick-up with Honda.”
Marquez will be back on track on Wednesday for the second day of testing in Sepang.
Peter has been in the paddock for 20 years and has seen Valentino Rossi come and go. He is at the forefront of the Suzuki exit story and Marc Marquez’s injury issues.
