MotoGP-Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team), who missed the Indonesian GP final and the Argentine GP after crashing at the Indonesian GP last month, made a great run in the return round of the 4th Americas GP. He couldn’t stand on the podium with the expected victory, but the run was the best he would have won if nothing had happened.
Marc Marquez, who challenged the final from 9th place in qualifying, had a problem at the start and went down to the end in the first corner. However, from there Marc Marquez caught up in a raging line. By the time he finished the first lap, he had already risen to 18th place. He moved up to 14th on lap 3 and 10th on lap 7. Then, in the middle of the melee, he continued to lap at a high pace of 2 minutes and 3 seconds to raise his position, and in the final stage he overtook Fabio Quartararo (Yamaha) to take the checkered position in 6th place.
Marc Marquez commented that the Indonesian GP, which had defeated four times in one tournament, was the worst race of his career, but this tournament did not stand on the podium, but he became COTA with a wonderful catch-up like Marc Marquez. It pleased the gathered fans.
This is the second time Marc Marquez has raced on the 2022 RC213V. By running COTA, which has won the championship seven times so far, the direction of the machine became clear, and it became a race that got a bigger harvest than the result.
Teammate Pol Espargaro (Repsol Honda Team) had a bad stomach and was forced into a very tough fight throughout Race Week. In particular, COTA has many turns at high-speed corners, making it a physically demanding circuit for riders. For that reason, he could not catch up from 12th place in the qualifying, and received the checker in 13th place.
He commented that he had recovered considerably yesterday, but in the final race, he said that he was feeling worse as the laps progressed. He was at one point thinking about returning to the pits and retiring, but he squeezed his strength and took the checkered position in 13th place. For the next round of the Portuguese Grand Prix, Espargaro plans to take a good rest and take on the challenge in perfect physical condition using the one-week interval.
Takaaki Nakagami (LCR Honda IDEMITSU) finished in 14th place from 10th place in qualifying. At this tournament, Nakagami suffered from the feeling of the front and made every effort to improve it. However, he couldn’t find the best balance due to the lack of rear traction as the front got better. It was a frustrating race, but he will try to make a comeback in the European round from the next Portuguese GP.
Nakagami’s teammate Alex Marquez (LCR Honda CASTROL) also struggled to set up the car and suffered a fall on lap 6 from the start and retired. Alex Marquez struggled to set up the car this year, but in the warm-up on the morning of the final day, he felt a sign of improvement and got a response. At this tournament, the response could not be completely verified, but at the next round of the Portuguese GP, he is enthusiastic to solve the problem and demonstrate his original performance.
Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team)
“I was disappointed because I was fast and could get 25 points today. But I really enjoyed the race to catch up from behind. There was a technical problem at the start. At the end. But the problem was solved and the car was able to run well after that. I was able to move up a lot of positions. I made some mistakes but I had a great race. I found that I had speed. It’s important to be able to move on with confidence. I had a good battle with Fabio at the end, but when the race was over I was completely over. I was doing my best from the first lap to catch up. And finally I finished in 6th place. I had another exciting race in Texas. “
Repsol Honda Team
“This tournament may have been one of the toughest races in my life. I thought about retiring the honest race with the remaining 10 laps because I felt very weak. But I knew I was within the points and decided to do my best for the team. I was late and it was almost impossible to make a quick turnaround. I was done. I was exhausted. I want to go home, recover and prepare for the European race. I think the potential of the car is actually much higher than this run and ranking. “
Takaaki Nakagami (LCR Honda IDEMITSU)
“Today I got off to a good start from 10th place in qualifying, but unfortunately the front was not stable due to lack of grip and strong winds. Throughout the week, I tried various things to find the best balance of the car. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find it. Overall, I wasn’t fast enough and I did my best, but the result was tough. We have to thoroughly analyze the data of the four races of the race. We have to investigate the cause. We want to catch up with the delay of the first four races in Europe. “
Alex Marquez (LCR Honda CASTROL)
“It was a tough race this week. I couldn’t finish on Sunday and I could only run for five and a half laps, but I was very happy when it came to running. I got a good start in the final and I was able to overtake some people. The rhythm was good, but I made a mistake and fell down. Anyway, this feeling of today is to Portimao I want to hit. I have to improve my car and run and get points. I have a lot of motivation for the next race in Portugal. At least I got a lot from this tournament. ”
Category: Category: F1 / MotoGP