Marc Marquez: “Not a surprise, podium super difficult”
“It was not a surprise, every time I ride here I'm struggling more than usual”
Marc Marquez has played down his chances of leaving the Gresini team with a podium finish in this weekend's Solidarity Barcelona MotoGP.
The Spaniard fought his way from 14th on the grid to the rostrum in both of May’s Catalunya races, since which he has won four times on the Ducati.
But Marquez was only eighth quickest in Friday practice for the season finale, as the third-best Ducati GP23 rider behind Marco Bezzecchi (second) and brother Alex Marquez (seventh).
“It was not a surprise, every time I ride here in Circuit de Catalunya, I'm struggling more than usual” Marquez said. “Now I have extra work, to try to improve, to try to feel better.
“The only positive thing today is that we are in Q2 and that we improved from FP1 to Practice. So let's see if tomorrow we can do another step.
“The target will be trying to be close to the top five positions because this GP the podium will be super difficult.”
Marquez revealed that he seems to be suffering more than most in the cooler temperatures.
“It was a very strange condition,” he said. “It's the same for everybody but on my personal side, I feel much worse than in May.
“It was difficult to understand where is the limit. You can lose the front super quick. If you push too much the tyres, you destroy it because the cold temperature.
“So everything is tricky. But we have a lot of tyre options. Michelin did a good job and let's see which one is the best for the races.
“But in terms of pace, as happened in the last GP here, I'm not super far. When the tyre drops, I feel better than when the tyre is new.”
Marquez is one point ahead of Enea Bastianini in the battle for third in the world championship. The Italian also struggled on Friday, finishing in tenth.
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.
