Marco Bezzecchi
Marc Marquez will start the Austrian Grand Prix from the second row after an accident at the end of Saturday’s qualifying session. He had been the strong favourite for pole position.
Marquez had been fastest in all three practice sessions, and by a minimum of two-tenths each time. He also set the pace early in Q2.
But on his penultimate lap, he lost control of the Ducati through the chicane and slid into the gravel trap. That dealt significant damage to the GP25.
While Marquez attempted to have another crack at pole position, the motorcycle wasn’t in a fit state and he lost several tenths. He starts from fourth, with Marco Bezzecchi, Alex Marquez and Francesco Bagnaia making up the front row.
Marc Marquez admitted Francesco Bagnaia was ‘very fast’ in the corner that was his undoing
Marquez’s Friday comments make for intriguing reading after his qualifying blunder at the Austrian Grand Prix. While he estimated that he had a tenth on Bagnaia over a single lap, he thought he was lagging behind over a race distance.
And he also flagged the turn 2a/2b complex, where he ultimately crashes, as the Italian’s greatest strength. That might suggest he pushed too hard through the complex to try and make up the difference.
Marquez said that he and his Ducati engineers would review the telemetry to understand why he was losing time. But for the second qualifying session, he missed out on pole after a late crash.
“In terms of pace, he’s better than me, while, on the flying lap, I’m ahead,” Marquez said, via GPOne. “I think he’s a tenth faster in comparison.
“By looking at the telemetry and analysing every aspect. We go our own way, and I know what I need, aware of what my limit is.
“Maybe the best I can get to could be a good second place or a third or fourth. Unfortunately, I can’t always be the fastest.
“Right now, Bagnaia is very fast in the T2. Consequently, we have to analyse and understand why he’s doing better.”
Marc Marquez risks his career every time he takes to the MotoGP track
This was a relatively low-speed incident for Marquez, which explains why he was able to carry on. The bike took the brunt of the impact.
Marquez crashed eight times in the first half of the season, which ranked him sixth overall. Two of those incidents cost him victories (in Austin and Jerez), but generally, he was exercising greater caution.
As Mat Oxley explained this week, Marquez knows his career will be ‘over’ if he aggravates the eye injury he sustained back in 2011. He experienced double vision, which is an insurmountable barrier to riding.
Marquez carries a 120-point championship lead into this weekend’s race, which means he can afford to make mistakes. His closest rival, Alex, must serve a long-lap penalty on Sunday.
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