Marc Marquez on battle with Pedro Acosta: ‘I said I’m going to “switch on”’
Marc Marquez heads into this weekend’s Portuguese MotoGP with two top five finishes from Qatar.
The second of those results for Marc Marquez came after a battle with MotoGP rookie Pedro Acosta, who announced his arrival in the premier class by overtaking the eight-time world champion at the Qatar grand prix.
Marquez eventually came back through on Acosta after the KTM rider ran wide with a few laps to go.
That started a drop in grip for Acosta as he slid from fourth to ninth place, while Marquez instead closed in on Jorge Martin for the final spot on the podium.
Speaking in the Gresini garage post-race, Marquez said: “I saw myself on the podium! I went for it but ran out of front tyre.
“When I passed Acosta I said ‘I’m going to “switch on”’ because if not I’m going to fall behind and I saw that there were like eight laps to go.”
In both the sprint and the grand prix Marquez was only third best on the Ducati to Martin and reigning world champion Francesco Bagnaia.
A stunning debut for the Spaniard aboard his GP23 Ducati, Marquez was beaming with joy when he returned to his pit box.
The former Honda rider, who last won a race in 2022, was asked about his pace after a team member said: “Up until the last two laps you were going fast.
Marquez responded by saying: “Yes, the last ten laps; if I tried to reduce the time by even 0.2s or 0.3s I’d use the front tyre too much and I wouldn’t finish on this track.”
Marquez also had a funny interaction with a team member when he was asked about his pre-race statement, where Marquez said challenging for the top five would be the main aim.
Gresini member: “You said to me that if we’re in the top five in Qatar…
Marquez added: “Yes, we’re good.”
