Marc Marquez takes seventh place at Misano, his best result on Sunday, well ahead of his Honda brand colleagues – Why there is still a long way to go to reach the top
For Marc Marquez, the race Sundays of the 2023 MotoGP season have so far been crowned with moderate success. Only in Spielberg and Barcelona did he see the chequered flag at all, collecting his first World Championship points on a Sunday in twelfth and 13th place respectively.
In Misano, the Honda rider achieved his first top-10 result in a Grand Prix race of the current season with seventh place. Starting from ninth place, he was in sixth place for a long time and even caught up with Maverick Vinales.
But because Marquez, unlike his immediate competitors, was riding on the soft rear tyre, he ran out of rubber towards the end of the race. The Spaniard dropped back behind Miguel Oliveira, but fought off Raul Fernandez and Luca Marini to finish seventh.
“In the last ten laps, the soft tyre obviously degraded more than the medium tyre,” Marquez explained. “But it was the perfect strategy and quite honestly it was a perfect race. Still, we are far away because we are still 13 seconds behind the top riders.”
“But that was the maximum today. I attacked and was able to defend myself at the end. In this respect, the soft rear tyre paid off. But we have to understand why we can’t use the medium. With it, we lose too much performance, especially at the entrance to the corners,” said the Spaniard.
Marc Marquez physically exhausted
That’s why he had to choose the soft rear tyre in Spielberg and Barcelona, he said. “That has the disadvantage that you have to play a lot with your body to build traction. It’s more physically demanding. It was the same today.”
Especially when chasing Vinales, he used up a lot of energy, Marquez reveals. “I wanted to stay with him until the end of the race with the help of the slipstream. But when I was on him, I had no reserves left. I couldn’t follow Oliveira either when he overtook me. “
Aming for 5th! @marcmarquez93 is getting closer to Maverick! ⚔️SanMarinoGP pic.twitter.com/EPZnoI0D8t
– MotoGP™ (@MotoGP) September 10, 2023
Already after Saturday’s sprint, in which Marquez finished tenth, he had spoken about the physical strain on the Honda. “I am in a very good shape now and I feel very fit. But we can only make a difference on the brakes and that takes a lot of energy,” said the Spaniard.
“In terms of acceleration, all the Hondas are the same. On the straight, all the Hondas are the same. You have to do it on the corner entry and on the direction changes, and to do that you have to push more, use more power, especially with your arms. “
Joan Mir sees positives despite race crash
This also increases the risk of crashing. For Marquez’ team-mate Joan Mir, the Grand Prix ended once again with a crash and zero points. After the sprint race on Saturday, the Spaniard had reported that he finally felt a bit more comfortable with the bike, especially with the front section.
“Apart from the bad luck I had at the start and later with the long-lap penalty, things went a bit forward for me for the first time. Even small progress like that makes me happy,” said Mir, despite finishing last in the sprint.
The Honda rider did not get off to a good start in the main race either. “But I was then able to overtake a few more riders than yesterday. When (Michele) Pirro and Jack crashed right in front of me, I also went off the line a bit in that corner. That cost me positions again. “
“On the next lap I crashed in that corner and slipped off the front wheel. I’ve had a few crashes like that this year. But it is what it is. Tomorrow we’ll look ahead to 2024,” he said, already thinking about Monday.
New Honda bike not a big step forward?
Then an official MotoGP test day will take place in Misano. Honda has already brought a first prototype for 2024 to Misano for this. Stefan Bradl already tested some new parts on the race weekend, including a new Honda chassis.
In the sprint and also in the race, Mir dueled with Bradl at times and was able to notice differences. “Among the Honda riders, I am the one who struggles the most with grip. I slide more than the others,” explained the Spaniard. “He was a little better than me in acceleration because of that.”
“But he was not at the level of the other bikes. So let’s see what we will test tomorrow. You have tried different things, after all. But judging by what I saw today, it wasn’t a big difference. “
Similarly, Marquez commented on Bradl’s test bike, “It looks like you have to ride it a bit differently. There wasn’t much difference in performance, but I want to wait and see and not be influenced by another rider’s comments. I want to test the bike with an open mind. “
Nakagami last in race: No balance
LCR rider Takaaki Nakagami was the lone fighter for his team in the Misano races. Substitute rider Takumi Takahashi had missed the 105 percent hurdle in the practice sessions and was not allowed to continue. In the end, it was also only enough for Nakagami to finish 21st in the sprint and 19th in the Grand Prix race.
“The other Honda riders have a better balance on the brakes,” the Japanese rider draws a comparison. “On our bike, the rear wheel pushes too much. We have to work on that. Because that limits me a lot on the brakes.”
“The front wheel locks because the rear wheel pushes. So I can’t brake and shift at the right moment. It’s hard to control,” Nakagami explained. “So we definitely need to find a better balance. That’s our goal. “
