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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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1 Nov, 2015

Journalists sue Marquez

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csovjkmwcaekoxeReporters for the satirical Italian TV programme ‘Le Iene’ (The Hyenas) instruct their lawyers to take legal action against Marquez and his relatives for assault, injury, slander and theft. They say says that the version of events released by Marquez’s lawyers is unverified, and insist that Marquez was not insulted or humiliated, and that it was actually the two reporters who were assaulted. The programme says it will release graphical evidence which “documents exactly what happened” on Monday Nov 2.

2 Nov, 2015

Honda: Data shows Rossi Kicked Marquez

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Nakamoto says that, while video evidence is inconclusive, data from Marquez bike shows that Rossi kicked Marquez.

First of all, we would like to state that we believe it is very important to speak about the facts, not about assumptions. A fact is a fact and there is only one interpretation…It is clear that Valentino intentionally pushed Marc towards the outside of the track, which is out of the rules, therefore Marc had no other option other than to run wide. The data from Marc’s bike shows that even though he was picking up the bike trying to avoid contact with Valentino, his front brake lever suddenly received an impact that locked the front tyre, which is the reason for his crash. We believe that this pressure was a result of Rossi’s kick. The data acquisition from Marc’s bike is available if anybody from Dorna, the FIM or media want to check.

I know Marc well. He is a good guy, with strong and honest values. Marc was just trying to defend his position, as any rider would do, and we believe him 100%.

We respect the decision of Race Direction and don’t want to pass judgement if the penalty they administered was right or wrong. However, we do believe there was enough evidence to allow them to take a decision during the race, it was not necessary to wait until the end.

3 Nov, 2015

Marquez: ‘I have never felt like this’

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Marquez says he has never experienced anything like his recent troubles with Rossi.

During my career I have had many battles, but I never have I felt this. On that corner Valentino passed me, but then I saw he was completely straight and looking at me and stopping a lot. I was just waiting because there was nothing to do at that point and then I saw with his leg he pushed my arm and my front brake, and then I locked the front wheel and crashed.

In response to the accusation of deliberately interfering in the title battle in recent races:

You know I don’t want to be involved more in the championship. Valentino surprised everybody [with his comments], but I didn’t consider that because I just did my weekend [at Phillip Island]. Of course we can fight, we can overtake, we can have small contact, but in [Malaysia] until that moment we never had contact. I don’t know how inside the helmet you can think to push out another rider with your leg. I’ve never seen that. OK, I am very young, but I am disappointed.

Yamaha: Rossi did not kick Marquez

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Yamaha issues a statement refuting claims made by Honda that Rossi kicked Marquez.

Yamaha would like to express its disagreement with the words that have been used to report on the incident between riders Valentino Rossi and Marc Marquez. Both press releases included words that accuse Valentino Rossi of kicking Marc Marquez‘s bike that is something not proven by the investigation of the Race Direction.We therefore reject the wording used in the said published statements that do not correspond with the findings of the Race Direction. Yamaha has no wish to enter into further discussion regarding this unfortunate affair and our desire is to conclude the 2015 MotoGP season in the best possible way. We go to Valencia with the clear intention of trying our best to win what we hope will be a memorable final race with all riders and teams competing in an exemplary sportsmanlike manner befitting the top category of motorcycle racing.

5 Nov, 2015

Regrets going wide

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Marquez says he regrets going wide at Sepang, but that it’s time to move on.

Unfortunately I don’t have any other choice. I just regret going wide and not to follow my normal line. Except for that, it’s better that we speak about this weekend…It’s been a difficult week after what happened in Sepang but I’ve tried my best to put it behind me and concentrate on my training and looking forward to the final race of the season. We want to finish on a high note so we will work hard from Friday to get the bike setup well and give ourselves the best chance for the race. I’ve had mixed results here in the past but I enjoy racing here in front of the home fans. I hope the events of the past week can be put behind us and we can focus on the race.

6 Nov, 2015

Second after free practice

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Marquez has the fastest time in FP1, and is fifth in FP2, leaving him second overall. The Honda team is experimenting with a variety of tyres and different settings. He says the Hondas are especially hard on the front tyre, but that he is feeling confident on used tyres when running the hardest option.

I’m happy because I went out on track and got back to enjoying myself riding; it was important and something I was really looking forward to doing. It’s been a positive day because we did a good job with the setup of the bike. In the second session we worked hard with Sunday’s race in mind, riding with used tyres and also testing the hardest compound. We are pretty clear about how we can continue to improve tomorrow, because the track temperature increased a lot and if it stays like this, we will have to concentrate on the durability of the tyres.

7 Nov, 2015

Second on grid, will challenge Lorenzo

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After final free practice, Marquez will be second on the grid at Valencia, after Lorenzo. Rossi will start at the back of the grid. Asked about whether he would challenge Lorenzo in the final lap:

It will be interesting to arrive in the final lap like this. But if I see the space and it’s clear, I will try [to pass], because in the end the best way to finish the season is with a victory. Like in Australia, if there is a lot of risk, we will see. If it’s a closing gap or a small space, I will try.

However, Marquez says Honda is currently struggling for long-run pace compared to Lorenzo, as high temperatures are causing problems with tyre overheating.

Nobody expected this temperature. We are struggling there. We’ve tried to change the balance of the bike to avoid these problems, but when you avoid a problem, another one is coming. We’ve tried to manage well but they say tomorrow will be a little bit colder and maybe that will help us.

11 Nov, 2015

Doesn’t enjoy electronics

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Marquez says he is not happy with the new ECU unit.

We play with many things, work a lot and the problem with the electronics is that you make five laps and then you stay half an hour or one hour in the box trying to fix. We need time to try and understand it well. At the moment I’m not enjoying it a lot. The thing is my bike didn’t spin. It’s just moving and cutting and I think we are far from the potential of these electronics. At the moment I still didn’t understand well. I’m riding fast and pushing but I want to understand it better for the slides and all these things

17 Nov, 2015

Suppo: Marquez crazy not to beat Jorge

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Repsol Honda team principal, Livio Suppo, comments on how Marquez should deal with the situation.

Go on holiday and relax. I think there’s nothing really we can add, especially Marc. If people believe him we are happy, if they don’t I think ‘time is a gentleman’ [an Italian phrase that can mean ‘time is a healer’ or ‘the truth will come out’]. I’m just so sad for what happened on Sunday [at Valencia] because I know that Marc really wanted to win this race. And when I saw him in parc ferme, I’ve never seen him so disappointed. Because he is a clever guy – you must be stupid to do deliberately what happened on Sunday…If you think seriously, with no pressure, you understand that it is crazy for Marc not trying to beat Jorge. Even if Marc finished in front of Jorge with Dani in third, Jorge was still world champion with the same points [as Rossi]. That would probably be even better, because this championship was deserved by both of them [Rossi and Lorenzo] and it would then have been decided only by different race wins.

He also says he has a lot of respect for Rossi.

I met Valentino coming back from Indy I think, in the lounge at the airport, and I said honestly I have more respect now than I have 10 years ago. Because what he’s done this season – it doesn’t matter if he won the championship or not – has been unbelievable; 36 years old, coming from the 500 and still able to fight with the young guns that are riding in a totally different way. And this year to beat almost all of them and lose the championship by only five points has been really unbelievable. Of course we cannot be happy with the situation that has been created by the words of Valentino, starting from the Sepang press conference. I really hope Valentino will understand that Honda and Marc are not against him. We just try to do our championship and if he thinks differently I’m very sorry, but it’s not like that.

26 Nov, 2015

Searching for ‘correct engine balance’

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Marquez ends the fourth day for Winter testing saying he still has to find the correct balance for Honda’s 2016 engine.

Today I ride all day with the Magneti Marelli. I didn’t try again the Honda software, I just concentrated on Magneti Marelli. I tried both engines, but I really concentrated all day with the new engine. Because I think, already, working on the new electronics is slow, takes a lot of time, and I see that with the 2015 engine, and the 2016 engine, we need a completely different map…It’s different. Last year’s engine was aggressive in the top. Now we have more power in the bottom, but still we don’t understand the way to deliver this torque. It looks like aggressive in the bottom, but then smoother in the top compared with last year, but the thing is that we can reduce, no? So we must work, because if we reduce too much, then we get aggressive in the top, so we must check to find the correct balance.

He also comments of the MIchelin front tires:

[I had] A lot [of near crashes] In the moment that you find the limit. Today it was a little bit better, because we worked with the set up, so it was better, but still a few crashes again today.

27 Nov, 2015

Crashes twice in testing

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On the third and final day of testing at Jerez, Spain, Marquez, crashes twice.

Today I had two crashes. One big high-side, something in Turn 3, on Doohan corner, I go in with some gas, and never happen in MotoGP, but maybe we have to understand well this new electronics. I was with gas consistent, but in one moment I lose really aggressive the rear wheel, and then I fly! But lucky I was well. The second one was we did the comparison with both engines and everything, and Honda asked for us to be on the limit to try to compare well, and the limit on the brake point with the Michelin is dangerous. So we did a good three days, we got a lot of information, but I think that at the moment, this new engine, it has a little bit more potential compared to the old one, but still we are far I think from the best level.

On what needs to be done over the winter:

I think Michelin will work on the front tire especially, Honda must work on the mechanical side, to try to be smoother, to try to gain on the acceleration, and by electronics, we have this so we have to understand it well. But the electronics is the thing that if you don’t ride, you don’t understand, so we must work on the mechanical side, and the Michelin, sure, they will improve.

3 Dec, 2015

Marquez hopes Rossi situation will imporve

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In an interview with CNN, Marquez, who is hosting a training camp for 20 young riders, says he understands Rossi’s situation:

The relationship with Valentino was really good until Thursday (before) Malaysia. I think there he created so much more of what was not natural, not good for motorcycling…The problem is that too many people start to speak about the situation. (When we arrived) in Valencia, I say ‘Please we need to win the race because if not … he will complain.’ Lorenzo did the fastest lap, the record of the circuit, the record of the total laps … I couldn’t pass him, I couldn’t win; but you know for me the target was to win the race and that was the best way to finish the season.

I already said in Valencia to Valentino, ‘My hand is here,’ and I want the best for motorcycling, and I think the best thing is to be in a good relationship with him. [But] at that moment (in Valencia) he had just lost the championship, and he was really worn. I understand the situation, so I don’t want to think a lot about what he said, but I hope that 2016 will be a new season, a new relationship and (we) try to forget all these things.

23 Jan, 2016

Rossi/Marquez clash data will not be released

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FIM and Honda Racing say that data from the Rossi/Marquez clash at Sepang will not be released. The data relates to claims by Honda that Rossi kicked Marquez, causing the Spaniard to fall. FIM President Ippolito:

In MotoGP, the dispute was brought before the CAS and the case is now closed. It is true that at the end of the season the polemics around the Rossi-Marquez case swelled to unprecedented levels. For that reason, we asked all the people involved, including the teams, to refrain from engaging in controversy about what happened in Sepang.During the last competition in Valencia, team Honda informed us that they had all the telemetry relating to the incident. Now the data are in our hands, and Honda and the FIM have decided together not to release them so as not to fuel further polemics.

11 Mar, 2016

Rossi: ‘Tricked, betrayed’ by Marquez

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In an interview with Gazzetta World, Rossi talks more about hsi relationship with Marquez.

After what happened we can no longer have a relationship. However, we must be opponents on the track, for some years I hope, and we have to respect each other. That is important…More than anything I allowed myself to be tricked by Marquez. He really betrayed me. He said he was a fan but those were all lies. I almost believed him and I was ready to have a rivalry with him, giving 100 percent on the track, but those were all lies on his end. At Assen I realised he was only my friend when he beats me.

Referencing an act of on-track revenge by Ayrton Senna in F1:

When Senna raced I didn’t like him. I cheered for Nigel Mansell, and when he joined Ferrari, I cheered for Prost. But I really liked what Senna did at Suzuka in 1990 [when Senna deliberately took both himself and title rival Prost out at Turn 1]. He was ‘worked over’ the year before and then he did what he had to. He showed some balls.

12 Mar, 2016

Says incorrect setup could cost points

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Marquez says that the progres of Ducati and Suzuki will have an effect on the upcoming season.

Last year, two years ago, when maybe on Sunday you didn’t feel well, you didn’t have the correct set-up, you finished fourth or fifth. This year it will be different. This year, you must be ready because if not you could finish eighth, ninth, 10th, because you have many riders. We anyway have Ducati riders, Suzuki riders that did a big step and it will be really nice, I think, especially the first race.

15 Mar, 2016

Need set-up improvement for Qatar

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Marquez says that despite his difficult test season, he is confident going into Qatar.

The season is finally about to start, and I’m looking forward to it. When we came here two weeks ago we did a big step forward with the set-up at the very end of the test, and I really felt at ease with the bike, especially in my last run that was quite late in the evening with the dew already starting to form. That’s positive in view of the race, even if we’re not yet where we’d like to be and still have a margin for improvement with the set-up. The Losail layout may not be the most favourable of the season for our bike, but in the past we’ve scored a podium and a win here with the RC213V, so we’ll fight to get the best result on Sunday. This year there are a few variables that aren’t yet completely predictable, such as tyre wear at race distance, for example, and the bike’s behaviour with the new electronics. Still, Honda never cease to work hard, as is the case for me and the whole team, so I’m positive and look forward to the action starting.

22 Mar, 2016

Happy with Qatar result

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Marquez says he is happy with his third place result in Qatar. He gained a second over testing.

I’m happy with this third place because I know that we gave our all and just two weeks ago we were one second off the pace compared to the other guys on the podium…The race was faster than we expected and we had a great weekend because we got 100% out of performance at a circuit that we find hard…I spent much of the race behind Dovizioso because I couldn’t pass him and it was difficult to make up the ground lost with his better acceleration on the straight. Whenever I got close I’d lose him again! Although I knew it would be difficult, I made another attempt with four laps remaining but he overtook me on the last lap. I tried again in the last corner but it wasn’t possible. I hope that the circuits coming up on the calendar favour us a little more.

24 Mar, 2016

Sends support to Alonso

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Marquez passes on his best wishes to two-time F1 world champion and fellow Spaniard Fernando Alonso who walked away unhurt from a huge smash after running into the rear of Esteban Gutierrez’s Haas car.

I want to make sure I send a message of encouragement to Fernando Alonso given the accident he had at the Formula 1 Australian GP. I’m glad it was nothing major. I’m sending him a huge hug, and I’m sure that this year’s season will go much better.

30 Mar, 2016

‘Feels positive’ for Argentina

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Marquez says he is positive for the Argentinian GP.

We come to Argentina in a positive mood after achieving a third-place finish in Qatar, a result that wasn’t really predictable before the start of the season. We worked very hard and very well with Honda and with the team over the weekend, and on race day I was able to push as hard as is currently possible. Of course we haven’t had a winter test here to count on and we’ll have to see if the setup we found in Qatar will also work here. That would be a good step forward for us, generally speaking, and we could even aim for a little bit better result on Sunday. Of course it will be a question mark until Friday but all in all, Argentina is a circuit that I like. We’ve always been fast here, so I feel positive for the weekend.

1 Apr, 2016

Comments on Qatar booing

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After Lorenzo and Marquez were booed on the podium at Qatar, Marquez says he is prepared to encounter more negativity.

It’s something that, for example, in soccer I heard and I don’t like. So I don’t like it in MotoGP, also if it’s against me. But in the end it’s something that, I’m not stupid, I know that it will be usual. We must adapt and for me the most important thing, is it doesn’t matter the [supporter merchandise] colour of the fans – if it’s yellow, black, red – I think everybody enjoyed the race in Qatar.

Lorenzo says he is confused by the reaction:

We didn’t do anything wrong during the last months. We just concentrated on going very fast. I won the championship, Marc tried to do [his best] in 2015 and he is starting this season also like me – to try to be professional and to try to be the best on the track.We are risking our life in the process. So I don’t know what we did wrong, just be very fast and beat some riders.

Rossi:

Boo? I don’t know. I don’t know.