Marc Márquez finishes just off the podium in the Qatar GP, the first race of the season, which was delayed by 45 minutes and reduced by two laps because of rain.
Off the start, Repsol Honda rider maintained his grid position of third. The reigning MotoGP World Champion remained in the top three until lap 12, when he dropped two positions on the same lap and was relegated fourth.
Marc Márquez: “We were aware that we struggle a bit at this track, but as always we kept a positive attitude, as we also knew that if everything was in place, we could have fought for the podium or even the victory. I think we worked well over the weekend, and we had everything clear.
Our plan was to use the harder front compound, but the chaotic situation with the rain and the continuous delays created many doubts. In the end we decided to go with the medium front, aiming to reduce the risk of crashing, but this turned out to be our biggest mistake of the weekend.
I struggled with the front the entire time; I couldn’t brake hard and after few laps the tyre was already wearing off. We continued to have some small issues with acceleration, but even so I had a good feeling with my bike. But with that tyre choice, I wasn’t able to gain on braking. That’s my strongest point, so I decided, okay let’s finish this race and Argentina will be another race”.
