Qatar MotoGP GP – Marquez: "With the hard front tire, I could have won"

A difficult start in Qatar for the reigning MotoGP champion Marc Marquez, the victim of a badly inspired change of front tire on the starting grid. The Honda official finishes disappointed with his fourth position 6.7 seconds behind the winner Viñales, but nevertheless satisfied to score important points. Statements and Analysis.

Marc Marquez, Honda-Repsol (3rd in qualifying and 4th in race): "We knew we were struggling a bit on this track, but we always wanted to take a positive attitude, knowing that if everything went well there was a way to fight for the podium and maybe even for the victory. . I think we worked very well throughout the weekend, our ideas were clear for Sunday. We had planned to use the hard tire before, but the rain came at the start and the postponements made us doubt ".

“In the end, we decided to go with a medium tire to reduce the risk of a crash, but that turned out to be our biggest mistake this weekend. I struggled the entire race with my front tire, I could not brake hard and after a few laps it was already starting to wear out. We still had a few small problems with acceleration, but I still had a good feeling with the bike. However, this choice of tire did not allow me to win under braking, which is normally my strong point, so I said to myself: "OK, let’s finish the race, it will be different in Argentina".

• MNC Live : The race delayed because of the rain !
• MNC Live :
• MNC Live :
• MNC Live : Zarco out, Viñales to victory
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• Report and rankings :
• MNC analyzes : 

Site analysis: Marc Marquez approached the opening in Qatar with a certain apprehension born of his on this same circuit … Not yet convinced by his new "Big Bang" engine and uncomfortable with the rough electronics of his RCV, holding it of the title knew that he risked suffering on this track which requires a perfectly managed power exploitation.

However, the first practice sessions partially reassured him by highlighting a good race pace, to the point that the official did not rule out the idea of ​​winning the race based on the (counter) performance of his rivals. "With the hard front tire, I could have won", regrets the native of Cervera (Spain), frankly disappointed to have been convinced by Michelin to opt for a less hard tire a few minutes before the start….

A handsome player, the HRC official nevertheless acknowledges that if he would have been more competitive with hard rubber – especially under braking where he excels – his margin of error would have been much smaller than with the medium. "And then it’s easy to say now that the race is over", he admits with honesty, announcing that he especially has to "continue working on the bike". 

The n ° 93 is not wrong because progress is to be expected on the Honda: the official RC213V had all the trouble in the world to contain the Suzuki of Iannone in the pit straight line and was literally dropped by the Ducati of Dovizioso (+ 6.1 km / h in favor of the GP17). Under these conditions, despite his talent, the Spaniard does not seem for the moment the best equipped to defend his title: "we lose time at each stretch of the stretch, for want of being able to pass the power to the ground", deplores t -he.

It should be remembered, however, that Qatar is not very successful at Honda, as at Marquez, more at ease on tortuous tracks. Since his MotoGP debut in, Dani Pedrosa’s teammate has won only once at Losail, during his exceptional start to the season in. This victory marked the start of an incredible series of ten consecutive successes that ended five months later in !

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