Euphoria over Marc Marquez risk-taking as he climbs 11 places at Le Mans sprint
"That was a massive risk for Marc... if it goes wrong on the inside, you get collected!"
Marc Marquez’s unique ability to take risks was lauded after his brilliant ride in the French MotoGP sprint race.
The Gresini Ducati rider was forced to start from 13th after a dreadful Friday, and a qualifying where he saved a near-crash.
But Marquez was fourth by the end of a sensational first lap, and finished second behind only Jorge Martin.
“He’s phenomenal,” Michael Laverty said about Marquez on TNT Sports from the Le Mans paddock.
“You think back to his Moto2 days when he went from the back of the grid to the front in a race.
“It’s those decisive moments when the pack spans out. He’s thinking on his feet.
“He is so spatially aware of where the gaps open up. He is able to react, he responds.
“There has never been a rider like it.”
Laverty assessed how Marquez clambered beyond so many rivals inside the opening laps: “So, he gets a pretty good jump.
“He rolls it a bit, at Turn 1 through 2. He opens the gap to run down the outside of everyone.
“He stays on line, leans it around the outside. He’s on the perfect line for Turn 4.”
Sylvain Guintoli replied: “You can tell that Marc had a plan. Everything went to plan.
“Where he took a risk was being slightly off line, releasing the brake and carrying the corner speed when everybody gets bunched up, into Turn 3.
“It paid off but that was a massive risk for Marc, to go around the outside like that.
“If it goes wrong on the inside, you get collected!
“He had to. From 13th on the grid, if you hold position, it would take too much time to come back.
“It’s one thing saying ‘I have got to take risks’ and it’s another thing to do it.
“The improvising… he’s got that instinct. You can tell what he’s thinking, and what he’s trying to do.”
Marc Marquez's GP23 'a work in progress'
Marquez endured his worst Friday as a Ducati rider so far at Le Mans.
It meant he started Saturday by entering Q1. Marquez lost the front during qualifying and, although he saved it, it meant beginning from 13th on the starting grid.
He will resume from 13th for Sunday’s grand prix but his GP23 is in better working order after Friday.
“He’s been fast,” Laverty said after the sprint race. “He’s been struggling to get the maximum out of it.
“I spoke to [his crew chief] Frankie Carchedi who said it’s a work in progress. They need to adjust the bike, from what they expect, at every circuit.
“So it has taken them time.
“The unfortunate thing is there is only one free session. The rest are timed. Then, you’ve got yellow flags thrown into the mix.
“He ended up on the back foot but, when the lights went out, he delivered.
“Yes, the bike was working. But he was the man who made it happen.
“The decisive moves on the first lap were what made the race for him.”
James was a sports journalist at Sky Sports for a decade covering everything from American sports, to football, to F1.
