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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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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.

10 Apr, 2016

Wins Americas GP

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Marquez 2016 CoTA winMarquez wins the Americas GP, at the Circuit of The Americas course in Austin, Texas. It is his fourth win in a row. Marquez leads from the front throughout the race. Jorge Lorenzo is second. Valentino Rossi, Dani Pedrosa and Andrea Dovizioso all crash out of the race.

I’m really happy. I feel really great on this circuit.

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.

8 Apr, 2016

Lanesplitter AMA

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Marquez answers questions from Lanesplitter readers. His favorite track:

MM: Austin is actually one of them, but I also love Phillip Island and Aragon. I like the left turns, because I grew up riding flat track, and they all have many different types of sections and corners. Lots of elevation changes.

LS: Are you a fan of the many rider aids like wheelie control, traction control etc? Or would you rather it be all down to the rider?

MM: The bikes we ride are developed for them. So you have to use them, if you were to take them out you’d have to redesign the bikes. But the aides are for safety. If you tried to use them to make you fast, you would not.

LS: Would you like to run the Isle of Man TT one day?

MM: Yes, but only for fun, not for race.

Looking for fourth Austin victory

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Marquez says he is looking forward to the Austin GP. He won his first MotoGP race there in 2013, at age 20 the youngest ever rider to win a MotoGP, and has since won three straight victories all from pole position.

It’s a track that I like, where I feel strong, and where I’ve always had good races and good fun. The track rewards strong acceleration, which hasn’t been one of our strongest points so far this year, so we’ll have to wait and see how we can manage the situation. We’ll keep working hard, as we did in Argentina, and we’ll try to find the best pace for the Sunday race.

3 Apr, 2016

Wins Argentinian GP

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CfJA1L-W4AAMgVBMarquez wins the Argentinian GP. Marquez came under pressure from Rossi in the first half of the 20-lap race, but after the pit stop Rossi fell seven seconds behind Marquez. Rossi was then overtaken by Andrea Dovizioso and Andrea Iannone of Ducati. However, on the final lap, the Ducati riders crashed, leaving Rossi in second.

2 Apr, 2016

Takes pole position

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After qualifying, Marquez takes pole position, with a time of 1h39.411. He is unable to improve on his fastest lap time due to a late crash at Turn 1, a heavy fall resulting in no serious injuries. Due to a failure on Scott Redding’s tire, Michelin has decided to withdraw both rear tyres on safety grounds, and introduce the extra “special” rear compound brought for such an occasion. Each rider will have four of these rear tyres for Sunday.

I’m happy with how the bike is going and with the pace we have. We know what my crashes today were due to; the first was down to changing the setup but the second was because we pushed too hard. That is what happens in the qualifying session. Tomorrow we’ll give everything we have in the race…After this decision from Michelin, I think that tomorrow will be a bit of an unknown because everyone will have a different tyre spec from what we’ve used for the whole weekend. We’ll wait and see how it works. We’ll have two warm-up sessions, one of 30 minutes and the other 20, to gather information, and we’ll have to see if everything goes well. Let’s hope there won’t be too many differences from the tyres we’ve been using so far.

1 Apr, 2016

Argentina Friday practice: First place

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Marquez is fastest in Friday Practice a the Termas de Rio Hondo Circuit in Argentina.

Today was a bit of a strange day, but the feeling was good in the end and we finished first on the timesheets. I think that the conditions will change a lot during the weekend, even from the first to the second session we saw the surface improve, although not as much as we had expected. So far track conditions are worse than last season so it seems that the times will be a long way off those from last year, but it will be the same for everyone and we are trying to manage it in the best way possible and adapt the bike as best we can.

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.

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.

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.

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.

20 Mar, 2016

Qatar GP: 3rd place

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Marquez takes 3rd place in the Qatar MotoGP at Losail Circuit, trailing Jorge Lorenzo and Andrea Dovizioso. Valentino Rossi comes 4th.

19 Mar, 2016

Qatar: 2nd on grid after poor tests

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After having problems with his Honda’s electronics, Marquez achieves second place in Qatar qualifying, behind Jorge Lorenzo. Marquez is actually faster than Lorenzo, but started his 1m54.2s lap one second after the chequered flag is shown.

If you said to me this two weeks ago, I would say you are crazy. Still we are not 100 per cent everything on all tyres, but we are working well and we have made a step. The feeling is coming back, which is important, and tomorrow for the race I think we can improve our level. I feel ready to fight for the podium and even if it is possible for the victory…Still we are losing on the acceleration, so for that reason I have to push a lot on the brake points. I know that maybe it’s not the safest way to ride the bike, but I must ride like this if I want to stay on the level of Jorge, [Maverick] Vinales, Valentino [Rossi] and the Ducati riders.

17 Mar, 2016

Qatar GP Free Practice 1: 8th place

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Over 15 laps Marquez sets a best time of 1’56.258, ending the session in eighth place and 0.818s back from Jorge Lorenzo.

Today the 2016 season started for real. It was not the easiest FP1 I’ve ridden in, but we tried to improve gradually. The feeling was not very good, but we worked hard and we tried a lot of things out, so now we have to see what has changed between the test and today. We know that in Qatar the track conditions change a lot, so we will try to continue to evolve and get close to the top riders.

16 Mar, 2016

Rossi: No rivalry with Marquez

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Rossi, Marquez, and Pedrosa appear at a pre-Qatar press conference. In his first appearance with Marquez since last year, Rossi brushes off comparisons to other racing rivalries.

I’m happy to hear my name close to Agostini/Hailwood and Senna/Prost – it is something extra for motorsport, but I think nothing particularly special will happen and on track I think everything will be the same. Everybody will try to give the maximum to try to be in front without something more ‘special’…Personally speaking, the finish can be different and better and I prefer to win than lose. But it is like this and it is past and the good thing is that we are here and we will try to have another good fight in this season.

Marquez does not address the situation with Rossi directly.

We saw in the past in MotoGP, you always try to beat your opponent, but in the end I have 20 opponents and I must fight against each one for try to win the championship and that is my target. This year will be an interesting season because everything looks closer.

Pedrosa:

I think it was a big moment for MotoGP, maybe not like everybody thinks, but there was a lot of fans and the track was super crowded. They had to put up extra grandstands and sell extra tickets, this was a positive thing and the result affects part of the show but overall we can say that MotoGP is trying to grow and that is what we look for, to put on a good show.