Secrets shared from inside Marc Marquez’s garage explain how he conquered Aragon

Marc Marquez’s crew chief has provided behind-the-scenes details after the years were rolled back at Aragon.

Gresini Ducati’s Marquez completed a clean sweep - pole position in qualifying, victory in the sprint race, then victory in Sunday’s Aragon MotoGP.

It represented his first win in almost three years and his first riding a Ducati.

“We did more changes this weekend than any other,” crew chief Frankie Carchedi told TNT Sports.

“It rains, you have dry sessions, the grip level changes…

“FP1 and straight into qualifying, every time the set-up was slightly different. [The grand prix] was the hardest because there was no dry session before.

“There are three or four corner sections on the track where there is a lack of grip. Nine and 10, it looks wet there. He does something very different from all the others.”

What is Marquez doing differently to his rivals?

“It’s his entry. His entry speed and how he manages the gas,” Carchedi said.

Crew chief details how Marquez won in Aragon

On the exit of Turn 15, Marquez seemed to out-accelerate Pecco Bagnaia and co. It was the first time this year a GP23 had out-accelerated a GP24 on a first-gear corner.

“That’s one of the areas he has a different line,” Carchedi said. “He has a lot more speed on the exit. Speed is difficult to understand.”

Marquez’s sensational lean angle had already been praised in Aragon by Bagnaia before his grand prix win.

“That is something from all year,” Carchedi said. “Especially his legs. The difference here was the lack of grip.

“We found something that gave Marc confidence that he could carry on with his style.

“He was able to maintain the lean angle where as some of the others found it difficult.”

Carchedi insisted he has never before seen data as special as Marquez’s.

“Even from the start, you’re always learning,” he said. “I learned from Diggia and also Marc.

“After this, I don’t know if it’ll happen again!

“When you work with someone like him you gain so much knowledge.”

MotoGP returns in Misano next weekend with Marquez now in red-hot form.

He trails championship leader Jorge Martin by 70 points with eight rounds left.

“We just continue,” vowed Carchedi.

“We found something in the last few races. Here was a big leveller, the track surface was different. No coincidence that Pedro Acosta was on the podium in his first year.

“The biggest difference in the last two races was that we did FP2 comfortably, then we could work on the race set-up.

“What people don’t understand is that in FP1 you use tyres that you don’t use again for the rest of the weekend. You’ve got 20 or 30 minutes in FP2 to get your bike set up, then qualify.”

'It's been coming'

Carchedi explained why Marquez hadn't won on a Ducati before Aragon.

"Things haven’t fallen into place," he said. "I was waiting for something to happen on the last lap!

"The expectation was to do what he did. He topped every session.

"It’s been coming for a while. A lot was determined by our grid position. At the Red Bull Ring we had enough to fight but it didn’t go right.

"Austin, unfortunately, was at the start of the year. We have a different brake system because he is an animal on the brakes. What we had could not cope, if not the result could have been different.

"At the Sachsenring, to come from the fifth row is nigh on impossible.

"He has something extra here. Less grip plays into his hands."

Marquez’s sensational return to winning ways in Aragon will, at least, catch the attention of Martin and Bagnaia in the title fight.

While 70 points is a big margin to cut down, Marquez’s first win on a Ducati could pave the way for many more.

Looking ahead to next year when he rides the same machinery as Bagnaia, this weekend in Aragon could be remembered as the round where everything changed in Marquez’s comeback.