Marc Marquez reveals ‘chaos’ behind Austrian MotoGP start device mishap

Marc Marquez revealed that his problems at the start of the Austrian MotoGP began long before he had even thrown a leg over his GP23 and left the Gresini pits.

The eight-time world champion couldn't engage his front start device on the grid, causing him to lose ground into Turn 1. He then tangled with Franco Morbidelli under braking and dropped to 13th.

But it was all a consequence of an unusual pre-race tyre issue.

The first sign of the problem came when Marquez walked into the back of the Gresini garage half an hour before the start and TV cameras picked up two mechanics charging past him with a front tyre.

“Today we were unlucky,” said Marquez, who eventually recovered to fourth in the grand prix. “Unlucky, because 30 minutes before the start, when the mechanics went to check the tyre pressure, the valve was broken.

“And then, as you see in the [TV] images, they were running to Michelin to change the tyre to another rim.

“But during that procedure, that was super good and they did a very good job, the tyre temperature dropped a lot. And then that chaos created everything.

“I mean, on the [warm-up] lap, I was more concentrated to put temperature into the front tyre. 

"Then on the last straight, I braked and engaged well the front device - but then I braked again [to try and heat the front tyre] and it disengaged [the device]. And then I didn’t have enough speed [to engage it again on the grid].

“Without that front device, it was difficult to start well. But I was super calm on the first corner. 

"I said ‘OK, I will brake early to don't exaggerate and let's see’. But then I received a big contact from the left side and we went wide. And from 13th place, we start step by step.”

Ride height devices will be banned in MotoGP from 2027.

“We will have a ban, but in ‘27. So they already did a solution, as [with] aerodynamics. But from now to ‘27, as KTM showed [with aero] this weekend, we will see many, many things,” said Marquez, before resisting calls for an early holeshot ban.

“We cannot ban a device [early] because I did a mistake. It’s the same for everybody and in the past other riders have done it also.”

“It’s true that now we have many things [to operate] on the bike,” he added. “When some riders arrive from Moto2 they say, ‘We have so many things to do’.

“But today, with that chaos we had with the front tyre, I put more attention on getting the tyre temperature up and I was less concentrated on the front device.

“I engaged it, but thinking about the front temperature, I disengaged it again by putting load and pressure to increase the temperature. 

"It is what it is.”

Confirming he had the pace to claim a podium on Sunday, Marquez said: “In Catalunya, we finished 2nd in the Sprint and 3rd in the GP, but it was one of the worst weekends for us.

“This weekend was one of the best: The feeling with the bike, the speed on the practice, on the qualifying practice, on [fastest in] the warm-up. But 0 points yesterday and a 4th place today.

“But the speed I enjoyed a lot this weekend and is there.”

Marquez remains fourth in the world championship but is now 83 points from Francesco Bagnaia and 22 behind third place Enea Bastianini, the rider he will replace at the factory Ducati team next season.