Smiling Marc Marquez “fighting at the top” on Gresini race debut
But the eight-💮time world champion insists he's sti🦩ll "not ready" to fight for a first Ducati podium on Sunday.
A smiling 168澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果历史:Marc Marquez achieved his goal of "fighting with the top guys" during his Gresini Ducati MotoGP race debut in Qatar on Saturday.
The former Repsol Honda rider claimed his best Qatar MotoGP result siܫnce 2019 despite being shuffled back to seventh during a poor opening lap.
The eight-time world champion set the fastest lap of the⛄ race as he pass꧑ed factory riders Jack Miller (KTM), Enea Bastianini (Ducati) and Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia).
That briefly put Marquez in the wheeltracks of Ducati's reigning cha൲mpion Francesco Bagnaia and a poteℱntial podium finish.
But the late-charging Espargaro retaliated and Marquez took 🎉the chequered flag in fifওth, 1.872s from race winner Jorge Martin (Pramac Ducati).
On a night when the top Honda of former team-mate Joan Mir was only 15th, Marquez's 𓆏result also justified his decision to leave HRC a ꧙year early.
“There was a smile [when I took off the helmet] because I w꧃🥀as a fighting with the top guys in Qatar, which is a circuit where normally I was super far in previous years,” Marquez told MotoGP.com.
“I was there fighting with the top guys, and even catching t🤪hem in one part of the race.
“My biggest mꦐistake was the first lap, where I lost some time, but apart from that I’m happy and also we learned a few things that tomorrow we must improve if we want to do the second half of the race in a good way.”
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Marquez explained that he doesn’t yet꧂ feel comfortable enough to attack at the start.
“With Honda, I was able to attack well in the beginning, but with this [Ducati], still I don't know♉ the reactions of the bike and I wasn't attacking well. Many riders overtook me in the first 2-3 corners. Let's see if tomorrow we can manage better that situation and be more constant.”
Despite finishing just 1.1s from Espargaro and a podium place, Mar🍃quez insists he doesn’t expect to be spraying champag♐ne on Sunday.
“No, no, no, we are not ready to fight for the🅺 podium,” he said. “There are four or fi෴ve guys faster than us.
“Today we finished in that top five and, li🎶ke I said on Thursday, I'm looking for the top six positions, and try to fight, every weekend. Then there will be som꧅e days better, some days worse.
“The positive thing is 🦩if we manage to dཧo a good second half of the race.”
While Gresini has won the last two Qa🧸tar GPs with Bastianini and Fabio di Giannantonio, Casey Stoner is the only rider to have won on his Ducati MotoGP debut, at Qatar in 2007.
Marc's younger brother and team-mate Alex Marquez finished sevenꦬth in the Sprint but was very impressive in the second half of the race, with only his final lap outside of the 1m 52s...
Peter haﷺs been in the paddock for 20 years and has seen Valentino Rossi come and go. He is at the forefront of the Suzuki exit story and Marc Marquez’s injury issues.
