2023-08-08 08:38:15
On Saturday, Alex Márquez crossed the finish line as a winner in the sprint for the first time in his MotoGP career, but on Sunday his British Grand Prix ended early in the fifth lap. The Gresini Ducati rider was 4th when he suddenly slowed down, grabbed the gear lever and finally had to park his GP22 in the pits.
Officially there was only talk of a “technical problem”, no details were revealed. “Yes, a technical problem, I can’t say more,” confirmed Alex Márquez when asked. However, his gestures suggested a problem with the gearbox. “Yes, it was something in that area, you might see from my body language where the problem was.”
“It was a shame because we missed a good chance – especially when you see what the conditions were like in the last laps, I’m usually pretty good there,” said the 27-year-old Spaniard, referring to the onset of rain. “I also felt very good, even though following the contact with Pecco on the first lap, a front wing was a bit on the limit. On the right side, the bike has moved a bit more dignified. In the right-hand corners, the steering behavior was a bit worse and the bike was a bit less stable during acceleration. Apart from that it wasn’t bad, I was still able to drive a good pace.”
Could the technical problem have been a late consequence of the Pecco Bagnaia incident? Incidentally, the Ducati works rider lost his left rear wing in the process. “No, no,” Alex waved him off. “The touch only affected the wing, other than that the bike worked absolutely perfectly – up to that point.”
“It was just a shame, but we have the speed and I hope our moment will come,” added the two-time world champion (2014 in Moto3 and 2019 in Moto2).
Alex Márquez has already given the Gresini Racing Team a pole position this season on a drying track and third place in the wet race at Termas de Río Hondo. However, a podium finish in the dry has not yet been achieved.
In any case, the Ducati newcomer at Silverstone has boosted his self-confidence with the sprint victory – albeit once more on rain tires: “Yes, it’s true that I approached the race on Sunday with a new mentality: ‘You have the speed, you have everything, you can make it.’ So far I’ve always been a bit more worried regarding having to control everything… Now I feel more liberated following winning the sprint. Hopefully the switch in your head stays flipped for the rest of the season.”
The Spaniard made no secret of the fact that the Silverstone Circuit is one of his favorite circuits and that it accommodated him. “Austria can also be good for me and Ducati. We will try once more. We have the speed, we just have to keep working and keep pushing. If we continue like this, I am convinced that we will make it.”
MotoGP Results, Silverstone (6th August):
1. Aleix Espargaró, Aprilia, 20 Runden in 40:40.367 min
2. Bagnaia, Ducati, + 0.215 sec
3. Binder, KTM, + 0,680
4. Oliveira, Aprilia, + 0.750
5. Viñales, Aprilia, +2,101
6. Martin, Ducati, +7,903
7. Marini, Ducati, + 9,099
8. Miller, KTM, + 9,298
9. Zarco, Ducati, +9,958
10. Raúl Fernández, Aprilia, + 19,947
11. Augusto Fernández, KTM, + 20,296
12. Pol Espargaró, KTM, + 1:06.120 min
13. Di Giannantonio, Ducati, + 1:27,605
14. Morbidelli, Yamaha, + 1:28,913
15. Quartararo, Yamaha, + 1:29,075
16. Nakagami, Honda, + 1:38,573
17. Lecuona, Honda, + 1:49,674
– Bastianini, Ducati, 4 laps down
– Marc Marquez, Honda, 6 laps down
– Bezzecchi, Ducati, 15 laps down
– Alex Marquez, Ducati, 15 laps down
– Mir, Honda, 18 laps back
MotoGP Results Sprint, Silverstone (5th August):
1. Alex Márquez, Ducati, 10 Runden in 21:52,317 min
2. Bezzecchi, Ducati, + 0.366 sec
3. Vinales, Aprilia, +3,374
4. Zarco, Ducati, +5,671
5. Aleix Espargaró, Aprilia, + 6,068
6. Martin, Ducati, +7,294
7. Miller, KTM, + 9,415
8. Augusto Fernández, KTM, +9.850
9. Binder, KTM, + 10,435
10. Oliveira, Aprilia, +11,247
11. Marini, Ducati, + 17,365
12. Di Giannantonio, Ducati, +20.063
13. Bastianini, Ducati, +24.352
14. Bagnaia, Ducati, +25.527
15. Morbidelli, Yamaha, +27,191
16. Pol Espargaro, KTM, +27,693
17. Mir, Honda, +29.062
18. Marc Marquez, Honda, +29,326
19. Raul Fernandez, Aprilia, +29,627
20. Nakagami, Honda, +29,909
21. Quartararo, Yamaha, +30,326
22. Lecuona, Honda, + 47,674
Championship status following 18 of 40 races:
1. Bagnaia, 214 Punkte. 2. Martin 173. 3. Bezzecchi 167. 4. Binder 131. 5. Zarco 122. 6. Aleix Espargaró 107. 7. Marini 107. 8. Miller 90. 9. Alex Márquez 75. 10. Viñales 75. 11. Quartararo 65. 12. Morbidelli 59. 13. Augusto Fernández 49. 14. Rins 47. 15. Oliveira 40. 16. Di Giannantonio 37. 17. Nakagami 34. 18. 18. Bastianini 18. 19. Marc Márquez 15. 20. Raúl Fernández 14. 21. Pedrosa 13. 22. Savadori 9. 23. Folger 9. 24. Pirro 5. 25. Mir 5. 26. Petrucci 5. 26. Bradl 5. 27. Pol Espargaró 4.
Constructors’ Championship:
1.Ducati, 317 Punkte. 2. KTM 172. 3. Aprilia 153. 4. Honda 89. 5. Yamaha 84.
Team World Cup:
1. Prima Pramac Racing, 295 Punkte. 2. Mooney VR46 Racing 274. 3. Ducati Lenovo Team 242. 4. Red Bull KTM Factory Racing 221. 5. Aprilia Racing 181. 6. Monster Energy Yamaha 124. 7. Gresini Racing 112. 8. LCR Honda 84. 9. GASGAS Factory Racing Tech3, 62. 10. CryptoDATA RNF 58. 11. Repsol Honda 20.
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