RiderTua.com – Marc Marquez’s debut with Ducati started with extraordinary results. The newcomer to the Gresini team finished 5th in the sprint race and P4 in the main race at the Lusail circuit in Qatar. It is clear that this result is considered by many parties to be promising, considering that the 31 year old rider had previously only won once at this circuit.
Marc’s true potential with Ducati will really be shown at the Portuguese GP in 2 weeks. Neil Hodgson said, “Yes. He’s making a comeback! It’s a track he doesn’t like. For me, he’s still not comfortable and hasn’t found a setting he likes. We’ll know more after Portugal, as it’s a proper race weekend without 2 test days beforehand.”
In the Portuguese MotoGP, Marc Marquez will race Brutally
Sylvain Guintoli added that Marc still has an approach where he wants to understand the bike, understand the racing style and understand the best balance. He was strong in the braking zone so he didn’t want to lose it. From what he said, he was taking it easy and didn’t want to make a mistake. But in Portimao he will appear aggressive!
Guintoli heard from interviews that Marc was giving 95 percent to understand what was going on, but at the Portimao GP once again Sylvain Guintoli said that Marc would bring out his wild side, stressed the former Yamaha, Ducati and Suzuki MotoGP rider.
Previously Marc Marquez said, “Of course, we try and push for the podium, but it’s impossible. They are faster than me. But it’s not frustrating because I already said on Thursday that our position is P4-5-6. In fact, yesterday P5 (in Sprint) and today P4 (main race).”
“Always close to the podium. But it’s true that I still don’t feel 100 percent comfortable to race the way I want. But let’s see if we can improve in the next race,” added the rider nicknamed Baby Alien.
Marquez began to master the GP23, while Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo) and Jorge Martin (Pramac) rode the GP24 motorbike that was developed. The rider from Cervera Spain is still making adjustments to find the ideal set-up as he adapts his racing style from Honda to Ducati and feels Marquez will continue to develop.
However, Alex Marquez’s older brother and teammate has never won at Portimao in the 3 races since MotoGP started being held there in 2020.
Marquez is the top satellite team rider in the sprint and Qatar GP so there is reason to be optimistic, but the consistency of Bagnaia and Martin remains a big obstacle to overcome next weekend.
