Marquez: I decided I was going to take a risk today

Aragon race winner Marc Marquez said he decided to ‘take a risk’ when he woke on Sunday morning ahead of his home MotoGP round in Spain.

The Repsol Honda rider opted for the soft rear tyre and the gamble paid off as he returned to the top step of the podium for the first time since the German round of the championship at Sachsenring in July.

Marquez got the better of Ducati’s Andrea Dovizioso, ending the Italian manufacturer’s recent run of success as he opened a cushion of 72 points at the top.

He said: “I’m very happy with this win because for me it was a long time without finishing in the top. I know that here I would have a great chance, but during the weekend I was a fast, but Dovi was very fast and he was the strongest guy.

“After warm-up, I crashed, but I after I got up this morning I said I wanted to take a risk today. I pushed and I crashed, and I started to think why I crashed, but then we had discussions in the team, with HRC, about the soft rear. I didn’t try that soft rear tyre in the afternoon with hot temperatures, but I say I believed in this one and I can manage.

“It was the only chance to fight against Dovi, because with the hard I feel good, but for my riding style it wasn’t working in a good way, especially in the entry,” Marquez added.

“When I was behind him in the race, I feel really good, really smooth. He pushed a lot mid-race, so I knew he was trying to push but I was able to follow him and I could see that he was sliding too much, more than usual, so I knew we would arrive until the end.”

Marquez and Dovizioso became embroiled in another dogfight for the lead, with the pair exchanging passes as they sought to assert control. In the end, the reigning champion was able to able to make a break for it over the final two laps, denying Dovizioso the chance to use the superior acceleration of the Ducati along the back straight.

Marquez said: “It was a great fight, with movement in the limit, but always with that respect – so another great fight with Andrea. This time I said I will not wait until the last corner, I will try to attack before, because it was the only chance to win the race.

“In my turn – Turn 10 – I had really good drive when I was behind him and I was able to overtake him into Turn 12, not easy, but in a good way. Then he started to know and started to defend there, so then I started to push in another part of the track, to use the tyre in another way.

“Maybe the best moment, or the most exciting moment, was at Turn 14; when we go in, we had a contact, I was on the 'green' and then when I came back, (Andrea) Iannone was upside, so it was quite exciting on the bike. On the last two laps I was pushing and I was able to be really focused.”