While saying he was more than delighted with fourth place on his Gresini Ducati MotoGP debut in Qatar, Marc Marquez was also aware of which rider’s data he needed to study ahead of this weekend’s second race in Portimao.
The Spaniard crossed the Lusail line as the top GP23 rider, 3.429 seconds behind factory Ducati’s reigning champion and race winner Francesco Bagnaia, and 1.496 seconds behind Jorge Martin and the final podium spot.
“No. They’re faster. One is the world champion, and the other finished second. “And they were much faster than the others last year in the second half of the season,” Marquez remarked.
“So I don’t believe it’s just the GP24. I had my bike and my tools, and when I signed my contract, I understood what I would get. So the bike is operating properly, and they are riding better than me.
“But I’m sticking with my style; I want to be patient this year, enjoy it again, and compete for the top five positions, as I did in Qatar.
“Every day I improve my riding style, every day I change a few things that help a little bit, so still I believe that I haven’t arrived at the limit of the bike.”
Marquez claimed pole position and a Sprint podium as a Repsol Honda rider in Portimao last season, but collided with Miguel Oliveira early in the race, hurting both.
Free practice for the 2024 event begins on Friday morning.
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“I had a go on the podium. I nearly bridged the distance with Martin. But [regardless], it’s fine this way,” Marquez explained. “If they had told me during the Valencia test that I would come in fourth place today, I would have signed up.
“This has never been one of my favourite circuits, but finishing fourth is a good result.
“We will analyze the statistics now: Bagnaia finished three seconds ahead of us and is the defending champion. It is from him that we must learn to set higher standards.”
Brad Binder of KTM took second place on the Sunday Qatar podium.
Marc’s younger brother and teammate Alex was the next best GP23 rider, finishing sixth and 3.362 seconds behind the #93.
‘They’re riding better than me.’
While Marquez’s bike is only a year old, Bagnaia and Martin are riding the most recent factory-spec GP24. But the eight-time world champion believes that is not why they defeated him in Qatar.
