In the battle for the sprint win in Sepang, Alex Marquez chose his overtaking positions carefully – because he wanted to avoid anything happening with Martin and Bagnaia
It was already clear in practice that Alex Marquez would be one of the fastest riders at the Malaysian Grand Prix. The Spaniard from the Gresini Ducati Team also realized this potential in the sprint on Saturday. He confidently overtook his two brand colleagues Jorge Martin and Francesco Bagnaia to take his second sprint victory
Where did Marquez make the difference with the Desmosedici GP22 compared to Martin and Bagnaia’s current model? “It could be on the brakes, but it was the fluid section. I always had the speed. That’s the key this weekend.”
“I think I then managed my best start of the season. That was also good. The race was then a perfect situation for me. I only made a small mistake when overtaking Bagnaia in the final corner.”
In the early stages, Marquez had overtaken the world champion in the finishing corner. But he missed the apex and Bagnaia passed him again on the inside. In this situation, Marquez also lost second place to Martin.
But this situation showed that as a rider you have to be careful not to interfere in the world championship battle. “It’s really difficult. We are all on the limit. There’s no room for maneuver when it comes to overtaking.”
“That’s why I tried to overtake them in corners where I knew I could release the brakes and go wide if I made a mistake,” explained Marquez. “That was the case with the one overtaking maneuver against Bagnaia in the final corner. “
“Maybe I could have put the bike on the inside, but it would have been too risky. That’s why I preferred to ride straight ahead. It is not easy. I fought for the world title in Moto3 and Moto2. It’s not easy when an outsider gets involved.”
Bagnaia in particular noted after the race that Marquez is also the clear favorite for Sunday with his pace. Will the 27-year-old win his first Grand Prix in the premier class in Sepang?
“I don’t agree with ‘Pecco’, because Jorge is also very fast,” says Marquez. “We will see. I think they will both make progress. Jorge was better than ‘Pecco’. I saw that he was also struggling with the lines.”
As the data from all Ducati teams is available to view, it is clear which data the engineers will be looking at from Martin and especially from Bagnaia. “I’ve been studying their data all season, now they’ll be looking at mine,” laughs the Gresini rider.
“A lot can change overnight. They can learn a lot, just as I have learned a lot from them. That’s why they will take a step forward on Sunday. When you’re fighting for the world championship, you always give a little more. “
