MARC MARQUEZ AFTER SILVERSTONE: FROM LAP 4 IT WAS ALL ABOUT SURVIVAL IN THE SPRINT

Ahead of the British Grand Prix at Silverstone, Marc Marquez played down any notion that a potential title success this year would change his life. He pointed out that his rivals in the championship fight—riders who, unlike him, have never won a MotoGP title—feel the pressure of that first-time challenge.

On Friday after the summer break, Marquez said his return to work had gone as expected. In practice, he showed competitive pace but could not match the very top of the timesheets. In FP1 he finished sixth, and in the afternoon MotoGP qualifying session he again ended the day in sixth. The gap to the fastest rider, Marco Bezzecchi, was about seven tenths of a second.

Marquez’s assessment of the day was clear: the Aprilia riders looked particularly strong in the faster, flowing sections of the circuit. “It was a good day. It was a day we expected,” he said. “It looks like the Aprilia is strongest in the wet/flowing corners—like in Assen or here. But we are working in the right direction and trying our best. Right now we are far from the podium. We are close to the top five, but we are not inside the top five. That’s what we need to work on.”

He then compared Silverstone to Assen, a track where he has struggled to fully connect with the characteristics. In the Dutch event earlier this year, he had finished sixth and seventh. Marquez noted that the TT Circuit’s fast, flowing corners resemble Silverstone’s layout, and he addressed whether he expects a step forward this weekend. “I think the potential here is slightly higher than in Assen,” he said. “But I expect a similar position. However, I’m more optimistic than in Assen.”

When asked why he does not particularly like circuits such as Assen or Silverstone, Marquez focused on the bike’s strengths and weaknesses rather than simply the speed of the track. “Of course every bike has its strengths and weaknesses,” he explained. “We’ve seen this season that the Aprilia is faster than us in flowing corners. In stop-and-go corners, we are faster.”

He also linked the issue to his own riding style. Since 2013, he has faced difficulties on the same type of circuits—especially in the flowing sections. “With 33 years old, I can still adapt a little,” he said, “but I have my riding style. Last year I had the same problems in those areas as this year. But then I could make up the time. This year it’s not possible. Where I was strong last year, I’m a bit slower now. The reason is something we all know. We’ll see how I can deal with it. I try to enjoy the weekend anyway, no matter what position I get.”

However, the weekend’s Sprint underlined how tough the situation can become. With start position 6, Marquez initially made progress, moving past Aprilia riders Fernandez and Bezzecchi, but the Ducati then slipped back. In the closing stages, he was “swallowed” by the field and finished ninth, defending the last championship point by only centimeters against Diogo Moreira. In the standings, the result pushed him back, while Bezzecchi moved up to third in the Sprint aftermath.

Marquez said the problem was linked to softer rear tyre performance dropping off sharply. “We have today a completely new situation for a Sprint experienced,” he said. “That we lose so quickly, so strongly in tyre performance, that has never happened before. I wasn’t alone—but with me it started first, already in lap 4.” He added: “It was a pure ride for survival. When I was riding in P6, I was in massive risk of crashing, so I only tried to finish the race. The strange thing is, it wasn’t classic wear—the compound just didn’t work anymore.”

There was also a bizarre moment when Marquez slid so far that the airbag in his leathers triggered. “Yes, that’s correct. There was a huge slide, that’s where it happened. But it wasn’t a huge problem. The only thing that mattered was that I didn’t crash.” He also pointed to the need to compare data, noting that his brother Alex with the same specification suffered less. “We have at least a lot of data that we have to evaluate, especially Alex’s, so that we can find a solution if possible and be better on Sunday,” he said.