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Category: Superbikes
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MARC CRASHES OUT OF PODIUM CONTENTION, BUT REMAINS THIRD IN THE CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS
Alex Marquez has finished fourth in today’s race at the Sepang International Circuit, which proves to be one of his favourite tracks on the calendar. This is one of his best results of the season after the podium scored in Sachsenring. It was an excellent performance for the #73, who had a great start on both occasions (the original encounter was red flagged on the opening lap) and showed a great pace, which allowed him to defend his position from a resurging Acosta. The 13 points bagged today are crucial for the championship standings as Alex is now 10th after overtaking Aleix Espargaró.
It would be a top five finish for Alex had it not been for the crash by his brother Marc, who tucked the front at the last turn at halfway distance. The #93 did not give up and managed to re-join the race and from last place, he made his was back to 12th position, to secure four crucial points that keep him ahead of Enea Bastianini for third place overall.
4th - ALEX MARQUEZ #73 (10th in the championship standings 155 points)
“We scored some important points this weekend while finding fresh confidence and the feeling we lacked in recent races. It wasn’t an easy race because we had to stay focused after the red flag, and I wasn’t feeling too well due to a cold, which prevented me from getting a good night sleep. I must thank the team because they were really supportive in my toughest moments, and we need to enjoy this time now that we’re back at our real level.”
12th - MARC MARQUEZ #93 (3rd in the championship standings 369 points)
“We had a very positive weekend, both yesterday and today, on a track that has always been a challenging one for me. There are those days in which you don’t really know why you crashed: I was feeling comfortable today and I knew I could have battled for third-fourth place… But it is what it is, there’s one event left, and we’ll try to finish the season the best possible way.”
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The second day of action smiles to Team Gresini MotoGP who shine in qualifying with Alex Marquez’s front-row worthy qualifying and do even better in the race with Marc second behind an uncatchable Martin and Alex fourth at the chequered flag.
Marc Marquez takes another step towards third place in the final championship standings courtesy of what was his 21st rostrum finishing across all races (sprint and full distance encounters), while Alex is only one point away from the world championship top ten.
2nd - MARC MARQUEZ #93 (3rd in the chamionship standings with 365 points)
“I did a great start and honestly, I didn’t expect to be this quick race-pace wise. On paper we were aiming realistically at fourth place but with the last fine tuning I found myself very comfortable and third was within reach. Pecco’s crash opened the door to second place, a result I dedicate to the whole Valencian community.”
4th - ALEX MARQUEZ #73 (11th in the championship standings with 142 points)
“I had a good start, but unfortunately the others in front of me did even better. We did a good race, and our pace was worthy of a fifth place, maybe even fourth as I didn’t expect Marc to be so quick today, but we must be happy with this race. The goal tomorrow will be more or less the same. If it rains, anything can happen, but at the moment we’re ready to be in the top five.”
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The highly anticipated rain did not lead to good results for Team Gresini Racing MotoGP who witness a first, very early drama during the sighting lap, with Alex crashing out while riding over a kerb. The #73 is forced to a huge comeback from last place on the grid (he was originally set to line up on row three), with the tenth place at the flag being more bitter than sweet, knowing his abilities in wet conditions.
Things went even worse on the other side of the pit-box as Marc Marquez is on one had among the absolute protagonists for half of the race, battling for the lead with Bagnaia, but then a mistake followed by a crash led to a massive amount of ground lost. He finished 11th as he extends his lead on Bastianini by two more points for third place overall.
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10th - ALEX MARQUEZ #73 (12th in the championship standings with 136 point)
“I made a silly mistake on the sighting lap but it wasn’t due to a lack of concentration. I wanted to try a line on the kerb and ended up on the ground. I’m sorry for the team, even though my pace today was worth of a seventh/eighth place, even if I started from row three. We’ll make amends in Malaysia.”
11º - MARC MARQUEZ #93 (3rd in the championship standings with 356 points)
“Today we were the quickest on track, so the result cannot be satisfactory. There was no way to overtake Pecco: I tried it in the safest way possible, but it was easy to make a mistake in these conditions. We did make a mistake, and despite that we ended up eleventh. Then, from the back of the field I had a lot to do in order to score some points, but we managed to do so. Now it is time for Malaysia, a track where we’re likely to struggle.”
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Team Gresini MotoGP scored points with both riders today as Marc Marquez and Alex Marquez were fourth and fifth in today’s Thai Grand Prix sprint race.
On one side, Marc lost a few points from today’s winner Bastianini in the battle for the championship top three, even though the fifth place on the grid and the crash in Q2 may have led to far worse consequences. Still, he bagged valuable points, with an exciting battle against the Desmosedici GP24 machines ahead – as tomorrow’s race is the real target for the weekend.
Alex Marquez, on the other hand, did not fully shine in qualifying this morning (he was fifth), while he managed to put together a spectacular comeback after recovering three positions at the starts and finishing not far from the frontrunners. The crash by Acosta opened him the doors to the top five. Five, key points were secured in the battle for the top ten in the championship, with Espargaro and Bezzecchi now only six and seven points away, respectively.
4th - MARC MARQUEZ #93 (3rd in the championship standings with 351 points)
“Before the sprint race began, I was confident in my chances to battle for the podium, but I hadn’t taken Enea into consideration. I managed to achieve the target of a second-row qualifying result and I also started well because I was second at turn three, but today we didn’t have the pace to stay with the frontrunners. Tomorrow’s realistic goal is to finish as high as today.”
5th - ALEX MARQUEZ #73 (12th in the championship standings with 130 points)
“It was a good Saturday and let’s say so far a good weekend, too. Without slipstream it wasn’t an easy job to carry out in today’s race, but it went well and I’m happy. Tomorrow’s race is going to be a long one and we’ll need to manage the tyre wear as soon as we can for the end of the race – and there are valuable points up for grabs.”
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The eighteenth Grand Prix of the season, currently underway at the Buriram International Circuit, has seen a Friday characterised by milder-than-usual (especially for the region) temperatures and good track conditions, with Marc and Alex Marquez immediately competitive in the morning FP1 (in which they were fourth and fifth, respectively).
In the afternoon session – the one that counts the most – both riders were able to hit the target: Marc set the new outright best lap of the track in what was his first Thai weekend on a Ducati and Alex also managed to finish in the top ten, being now among the candidates for the Thai GP pole position.
1st - MARC MARQUEZ #93 (1’29.165s)
“It was a good Friday, but our goal for tomorrow – at least the realistic one - is to qualify on the front two rows. I know where we’re losing ground and where we can improve, we’re suffering in the first two sectors and it won’t be easy tomorrow.”
8th - ALEX MARQUEZ #73 (1’29.613s)
“We did quite a few changes to the bike set-up, and they worked, and the main thing is that we’re in Q2. We still need to do a lot of work and focus on tyre choice, which is something that we still have to evaluate.”
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