MARC MARQUEZ SAYS HE’S FAR FROM THE PODIUM IN SILVERSTONE PRACTICE AFTER SPRINT TYRE DROP

Marc Marquez said he is now “slower” in the Silverstone corners that were his strong points last year, adding that he can no longer compensate for those weaknesses. The factory Ducati rider finished seventh in Friday practice, more than seven tenths behind the pace-setting Aprilia of Marco Bezzecchi, and he was also behind Fabio di Giannantonio’s VR46 Ducati. Marquez still insisted the focus is on managing the weekend and closing the gap as the British GP progresses.

That message came after a difficult Saturday sprint in which Marquez’s rear tyre suddenly fell away. He described the problem as something he had “never had” in practice, saying he experienced an extreme drop that he couldn’t explain. “I mean, I'm disappointed because we experienced a new feeling in the sprint race, that on the practice we never had that drop on the rear tyre,” he told the media. He said the issue started very early: “Already on lap four I started to feel a massive drop, and then I just tried to survive and finish the race.”

Marquez had been in the fight for the top four at the start of the 10-lap sprint, but his pace then “fell off a cliff.” Crash reported that the gap between his fastest and slowest sprint laps was around five seconds, with him fading to ninth. He narrowly held onto a single point, finishing just 0.027s ahead of LCR Honda rookie Diogo Moreira.

With the rear tyre deteriorating, Marquez said he was taking risks to keep hold of the points-paying positions. “Because when I was in that seventh position, sixth position, I was suffering a lot, risking a lot to have a crash, and the difference in points between sixth or zero is only three, four points,” he said. He added that he was surprised by the severity of the change and that he and the team would look for a way to manage the rear tyre better for Sunday. “So I just finished the race, and let's see for tomorrow if I can improve; let's see if I can manage better that rear tyre and also see if the team can find some solution to help a bit the rear tyre.”

Marquez also clarified that he believed the issue was not tyre degradation. He said it was graining instead, and that it wasn’t simply caused by colder conditions. “I mean, it's not like the temperature was much colder… the problem is that it was not tyre degradation, it was graining,” he explained. “And when you have graining, it's like the rubber is not working in a correct temperature.” He added that the graining meant the effect might not be visible in the usual sessions: “the thing is that we will have the doubt even starting the race with some solution, because on the practice and in the warm-up, you will not feel it.”

Asked whether switching to the medium rear for the main race would solve it, Marquez was cautious. “I hope, I wish, but on the papers, soft and medium are very, very similar tyres,” he said, pointing out that the compounds are from the same family with only one step difference.

The sprint also included a dramatic moment late on. Marquez said he had a “massive shake” with the rear tyre that was severe enough to deploy his suit’s airbag. “I had a massive shake with that rear tyre and the airbag deployed, because I was already on the floor. But then the airbag deployed, but luckily I stayed on the bike,” he said.

Other observers highlighted how pronounced the problem was compared to the rest of the Ducati field. Michael Laverty said Marquez had “the worst” issue among the Ducati riders, describing it as being “swallowed up” by the sprint’s tyre wear. Laverty said it looked like Marquez was using more tyre to create lap time with the soft compound, adding: “It wasn’t banding, it was just like there was no rubber left. The right shoulder had completely worn down. It [the bike] was walking around on entry. It wouldn’t allow him to turn. [He had] no acceleration off [the corners].” He also noted signs of electronics cutting in as the wheel spun again.

The Ducati struggles were shared by Pecco Bagnaia, who started from a season-worst 16th and then dropped from 14th to 17th. Bagnaia said the lack of rear grip was “huge” and that after four laps he started going backwards. “I cannot imagine something more today - no performance, no speed. The lack of rear grip was huge, and after four laps I started going backwards, not forwards,” he said. He added that in the last two laps he was riding “without touching the knee on the right side,” and suggested the target of a top 10 was no longer realistic.

Bagnaia also pointed to the same theme of a sudden rear problem: “I was expecting the drop, but not that much,” and he said the right side was “completely finished.” He insisted it was not simply a tyre issue, saying: “The right side was completely finished, but it's not a problem of the tyre, it's our bike that is not finding the grip.” He estimated that switching from soft to medium would only give him “four laps more,” and compared the management challenge to Thailand, saying it was “very difficult to manage” because braking and loading the front made the rear slide.

Bagnaia summed up the Ducati situation by saying, “Me and Marc were the slowest” in the closing stages, while praising Gresini’s Alex Marquez for being “super strong, super fast” and “the one that making the difference compared to other Ducatis.”

Marquez’s sprint ended with him finishing 13.965s behind Jorge Martin, who won the race and extended his championship lead to 17. Marquez is now 29 points behind the leader. He will start Sunday from sixth on the grid after abandoning a lap that could have challenged for pole, having mistaken a lack of adhesion flag for a yellow flag.