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Marc Marquez

Marc Marquez94 posts

Marc Marquez is a professional motorbike racer, born in Cervera, Spain in 1993. He won the MotoGP World Championship in 2013 and 2014.

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21 Aug, 2016

‘I found, honestly, the perfect lap’

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Marquez says Rossi’s tow helped him secure the perfect lap in Czech GP qualifying.

I found, honestly, the perfect lap. I overtook in the last corner, but I had a small slipstream from Valentino and this helped me quite a lot to get pole position. I lost some time in the last corner, but the time that I gained during all of the lap with this small slipstream was much better. I didn’t expect to be on pole and I didn’t expect this lap time. Normally I would ride alone but this time I found a good slipstream and maybe this slipstream gave me pole.

20 Aug, 2016

Amazed he avoided crash

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Marquez says he is amazed he was able to retain control of his bike when he nearly crashed in Free Practice.

When I lost the front, the first moment I thought, ‘this is a crash’. I was lucky because I could a stand [up] the bike a little bit, but the front was still closing. When I was there, I was with the knee pushing on the floor, and in the end I was able to save it. Sometimes I say you must be lucky to save that, but already many times [I’ve done this]… so something is there. How I do it I don’t know. But I hope to not repeat it in the race.

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12 Aug, 2016

Relationship with Marquez improving

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Rossi says his relationship with Marquez has improved.

I think that after what happened, all the rest becomes not very important. Very very small. I think it’s the right thing to do. Our relationship has improved since Montmelo.

15 Jul, 2016

Marquez: Rossi not far enough behind

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Marquez says that Rossi is still a factor in the Championship.

Jorge is at the moment the strongest one, because he is the closest one in the championship. He is second and will be really strong in the second half of the season, so we need to take care about him. But also not forget Valentino, [the gap’s] far but not far enough. Like we saw last races, he was very strong, and it will be hard to manage this distance.

11 Jul, 2016

‘We’ve learned from the past’

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Marquez comments on his progress ahead of the German GP.

We’re going to the German GP aiming for a podium position and of course possibly to fight for the win. The Sachsenring is normally a very good track for me that I like very much, maybe because it has so many left-hand corners, a bit like a dirt track! On the other hand, it’s another one on the calendar where the weather has sometimes played a crucial role in the past, so we’ll see how it goes there. We’ve learned from the past and we’re approaching this season race-by-race, trying to be ready and make the most of what we have and what the situation requires.

1 Jul, 2016

Learned from 2015 mistakes

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Marquez believes his consistency in 2016 — he is the only one of this year’s title hopefuls who has scored in every race — is a direct result of last year’s struggles.

It’s a conversation for a pub. We are not even halfway through the season and I don’t even have a one-race advantage over the guy in second – although it’s obviously important to have this gap, especially over Valentino…All human beings learn, and what better way to do it than from your own mistakes. I’m one of those people who can be told 20 times that there’s a wall in front of me, but until I hit it head-on, I don’t believe it’s there.

24 May, 2016

Booing curtailed Mugello celebrations

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Marquez says being booed on the Mugello podium made him limit his celebrations after finishing second in MotoGP’s Italian Grand Prix.

The reaction was not the best one. For that reason I didn’t celebrate a lot on the podium because I don’t like this. Today all the circuit was yellow but in the end all the circuit enjoyed the last laps and the show and that is most important.

22 May, 2016

Bike ‘not so stable’

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Marquez says his fourth place grid was a result of his bike’s lack of stability.

The Ducati on the straight is really fast but here we are also losing to Yamaha and Suzuki in the small accelerations. OK, here that is not as demanding as Le Mans, they are small ones [straights]. But with one tenth here, one tenth there, in the end we are losing a lot. We cannot use all the torque because of the stability on the rear…The electronics we are working really hard. Honestly we are still not perfect. We need to improve there, the stability. It looks like it’s not such a stable bike. At the top is Ducati. It is very stable. Then Yamaha. Suzuki is more unstable but they can keep pushing. For example in Le Mans we cannot use the power for the wheelie. The wheelie stops us and we need to reduced the power for the wheelie. Here we have the wheelie but the worst problem is the stability on the exit.

19 May, 2016

Lorenzo, Marquez given bodyguards for Mugello

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MotoGP organisers have arranged a bodyguard each for Jorge Lorenzo and Marc Marquez for this weekend’s Italian Grand Prix in order to minimise the chance of an incident with Valentino Rossi’s fans. A third security specialist has been assigned to Alex Marquez, Marc’s brother. Whe Rossi is asked if he would make some kind of appeal to try to calm any fan that might want to harm Lorenzo or Marquez.

I didn’t do it, but my fan club did it, which is as if I have said it.

MotoGP spokesperson:

We have asked the German company that provides us with security personnel for access to two more employees. Lorenzo and Marquez will also both have a bodyguard who will be prepared and will have a green light to act if the situation requires it.

18 May, 2016

Can win Italian GP if acceleration improves

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Marquez says he can win in Italy, if the Repsol Honda team can improve the acceleration of the RC213V.

I look forward to the next two races: we need to focus and concentrate on Mugello and Montmeló, which are two very different tracks from both Jerez and Le Mans. They require more corner speed and if two years ago I would have said that they were demanding tracks for us now I think that maybe they can be better.  We have work to do but I believe that if we improve the acceleration, our bike is one of the best out there. Not easy to get it due to the actual rules that prevent us from working on the engine, but I know that Honda is working hard on every other area of the bike and I believe in them.  So we remain positive and in Mugello we will go with the podium as a target.

10 May, 2016

Says Honda acceleration worse than Suzuki

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Marquez says that his RC213V Honda has slipped behind Suzuki as the worst accelerating MotoGP bike, bearing Aprilia.

The problem is, under acceleration, we are losing a lot. If we improve the acceleration, we will have one of the best bikes. It’s hard – on the straights the time is free, and it’s difficult for your mentality when you can’t follow people on the straight. We will have this for the next two races minimum. We know where we need to improve, but on the other hand it’s difficult in the middle of the season because the engines are closed [sealed]. If we made a ranking of acceleration, it would be: Ducati, Yamaha, Suzuki, Honda.

7 May, 2016

Says winglets hurting overtaking

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When asked about the lack of late-race overtaking this year, Marquez says winglets could be a factor, along with the new Michelin tyres.

It’s difficult to say, it’s many things. We are trying to understand the tyres, it’s difficult to manage all the [race] pace because you don’t know when they will drop [laptime]. And, another thing, the wings didn’t help for the show, for the overtakes. This also can be a good reason, now it’s starting to be kind of Formula 1. When you take the slipstream you don’t have the downforce, then you have more wheelie, so it’s more difficult to overtake.

21 Apr, 2016

Marquez denies Yamaha move

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Speaking in Jerez, Marquez confirms that Ducati had made him an approach, but denied being in the running to replace Jorge Lorenzo as Rossi’s teammate.

I had a call from Ducati. Yamaha has done in the past, but not this time. Already Lin [Jarvis, team boss] said it wouldn’t be possible. I started talking with Honda [about a new contract] in Austin and I have always said they are my priority. They were the ones to give me the opportunity to join MotoGP, and there is no logic in changing.

Asked about the prospect of being paired up with Marquez, Rossi says:

It would be interesting to see Marquez at Yamaha, and he would be a very tough teammate to beat. It’s hard enough to share a box with Lorenzo. I can only say that I will do my best to beat my teammate, whoever it is.

Says Lorenzo move good for MotoGP

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Marquez says that Jorge Lorenzo’s move to Ducati is good for MotoGP.

I think it’s important and it’s good for the championship because one of the top riders moves to another manufacturer and is always for sure a big opportunity. Also a new challenge for him and we will see but still remain one year, so it is a long time, but anyway it will be interesting for everybody, the fans the other riders, to see how Lorenzo/Ducati can do…[Jerez]
is a track where Jorge is normally pretty strong so we will see, also it is more a flowing track so for Yamaha it looks better. We did a test in November but from then to now you can imagine how many changes on the bike, so we start from zero and we will see how the tyres are working on the track on this kind of tarmac and I look forward to starting FP1 tomorrow in a good way.

19 Apr, 2016

Needs more acceleration for European rounds

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Marquez says the European circuits will pose new challenges.

I’m happy with these races but in another side I want to arrive in Europe. Different kinds of racetracks, more narrow, different kind of tarmac, it’s the older style tarmac. Honda is working hard and I keep pushing a hundred per cent, every practice, every lap and it looks like [in Austin] we could manage, but the question mark will be Europe…We understand more things, and still Honda is working hard to bring us some acceleration. Especially in fourth, fifth, sixth gear, I can’t follow Suzuki, Yamaha or Ducati… so they are doing a big effort and they are starting to bring already some new parts.

15 Apr, 2016

Uses different riding style for Michelin tyres

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Marquez says MotoGP’s switch to Michelin tyres prompted him to try to adopt a smoother riding style during pre-season testing.

During the pre-season I was thinking a lot about riding style, trying to find another way to ride with Michelin and all of these things. Also the balance of the bike didn’t feel great, so I tried to change many, many things. But in the end, when I felt well on the bike – the first time in the last day of pre-season [testing in Qatar] – I tried to use again my normal riding style. Some slides, I tried to control these slides, because if not I will overheat the tyres. In the end, when a rider feels comfortable with the bike and everything is working well, it comes naturally. Your style is one [style] and you cannot change. I always have an aggressive style, sliding a lot, but in the end, OK, you can improve in terms of the condition of the track, but it comes natural…We must understand that this year it’s different tyres and the riding style is different. Of course I arrived [in Austin] and on the first day I was braking on the same point like on Bridgestone and I was not able to stop the bike. We must understand that this tyre works in a different way and have some worse points and some points that are much better.

12 Apr, 2016

Honda bike ‘getting better with every session’

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Marquez credits Honda’s improvements to his bike.

Every time, we find something, something new, in the electronics or in the bike. We are improving step by step. [At Austin] we improved the start, the electronics on the start, so the start was much better than the other ones. Also we improved a little bit the engine braking, we found something after Argentina, so step by step we are improving. On Friday I tried some wings, I tried a different fairing, so we are working. OK it’s possible to be [going the] wrong way, but I hope that now we are in the correct way and we must follow this way and try to work with the same style…I remember the feeling of Malaysia that I was pushing 100 per cent in the first day [of pre-season testing] and I was 1.5 seconds slower per lap than Jorge [Lorenzo]. That feeling was really frustrating. But the key I think is I always believed in Honda, in my team. They worked a lot. They are still working because we are not at our 100 per cent level with the performance.

11 Apr, 2016

Tyre ‘destroyed’ in race

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Marquez says Michelin helped in his choice to chose a soft front, going against the rest of his rivals, saying he pushed as hard as he could early in the race because he was unsure how long the rubber might last.

During warm-up I tried a different front tyre [the medium], the same as everybody was using, but I didn’t feel good,” Marquez said after the race. I want to thank the Michelin guys because they helped me to make the decision [to use the soft]. Until lap 12 the tyre was perfect but after the race it was completely destroyed. I knew it would be on the limit, but I try to use this potential in beginning of the race, try to open this gap. I kept pushing during all the laps because I didn’t know when the drop would arrive. When there were five laps to go, I start to feel a big close feeling at the front.

On his championship lead:

Of course I’m happy with this advantage that we have. Okay, it’s only the third race, but we already have 21 points so this is really important for me and the team. The other riders make a few mistakes, but you must be there – and now in Europe we will see, because Jorge will be really strong.

9 Apr, 2016

Rossi: Marquez dangerous, ‘plays tactics’ with bike

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Rossi says he no longer buys his rival’s claims of weakness.

I always considered he was very dangerous. The Honda seems very good to me. According to me, when he talks about difficulties [with the bike], Marquez plays a bit of tactics, he feathers his own nest, but he knows very well that this is a very strong bike…It’s true also that he looks much faster than [Dani] Pedrosa, especially here [in Austin]. This means he’s comfortable and he will be hard to beat.