| | Biker News - Regularly updated
Category: Moto GP
-
The last show of the season has begun around the fast Montmeló circuit near Barcelona. Alex Marquez and Marc Marquez did not disappoint as they both secured the direct seed to Q2 in their absolute home round.
Team Gresini Racing MotoGP therefore achieves an important one-two in what is the season finale for 2024, with both riders that will do their best for their own personal goals with regards to their final championship positions.
7th - ALEX MARQUEZ #73 (1’39.295s)
“It was a fun day. We tried several things this morning and, in the afternoon, the feeling was positive. Obviously, the track is very different, condition-wise, compared to last May, but we’re in a good moment and we showed it today. There’s still work to do, and we’ll be back on track tomorrow with the goal to improve some more, without the pressure of having to make it into Q2.”
8th - MARC MARQUEZ #93 (1’39.361s)
“Even though the conditions were very different compared to last May, I’m still having a challenging time at this track. We’re losing a lot of time in the second half of the track, but we have an idea on what to work on tomorrow. Despite all of the above, unlike last time we’re in Q2 at the first try, so at least we’ll have a head start compared to a few months ago.”
-
MARC CRASHES OUT OF PODIUM CONTENTION, BUT REMAINS THIRD IN THE CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS
Alex Marquez has finished fourth in today’s race at the Sepang International Circuit, which proves to be one of his favourite tracks on the calendar. This is one of his best results of the season after the podium scored in Sachsenring. It was an excellent performance for the #73, who had a great start on both occasions (the original encounter was red flagged on the opening lap) and showed a great pace, which allowed him to defend his position from a resurging Acosta. The 13 points bagged today are crucial for the championship standings as Alex is now 10th after overtaking Aleix Espargaró.
It would be a top five finish for Alex had it not been for the crash by his brother Marc, who tucked the front at the last turn at halfway distance. The #93 did not give up and managed to re-join the race and from last place, he made his was back to 12th position, to secure four crucial points that keep him ahead of Enea Bastianini for third place overall.
4th - ALEX MARQUEZ #73 (10th in the championship standings 155 points)
“We scored some important points this weekend while finding fresh confidence and the feeling we lacked in recent races. It wasn’t an easy race because we had to stay focused after the red flag, and I wasn’t feeling too well due to a cold, which prevented me from getting a good night sleep. I must thank the team because they were really supportive in my toughest moments, and we need to enjoy this time now that we’re back at our real level.”
12th - MARC MARQUEZ #93 (3rd in the championship standings 369 points)
“We had a very positive weekend, both yesterday and today, on a track that has always been a challenging one for me. There are those days in which you don’t really know why you crashed: I was feeling comfortable today and I knew I could have battled for third-fourth place… But it is what it is, there’s one event left, and we’ll try to finish the season the best possible way.”
-
The second day of action smiles to Team Gresini MotoGP who shine in qualifying with Alex Marquez’s front-row worthy qualifying and do even better in the race with Marc second behind an uncatchable Martin and Alex fourth at the chequered flag.
Marc Marquez takes another step towards third place in the final championship standings courtesy of what was his 21st rostrum finishing across all races (sprint and full distance encounters), while Alex is only one point away from the world championship top ten.
2nd - MARC MARQUEZ #93 (3rd in the chamionship standings with 365 points)
“I did a great start and honestly, I didn’t expect to be this quick race-pace wise. On paper we were aiming realistically at fourth place but with the last fine tuning I found myself very comfortable and third was within reach. Pecco’s crash opened the door to second place, a result I dedicate to the whole Valencian community.”
4th - ALEX MARQUEZ #73 (11th in the championship standings with 142 points)
“I had a good start, but unfortunately the others in front of me did even better. We did a good race, and our pace was worthy of a fifth place, maybe even fourth as I didn’t expect Marc to be so quick today, but we must be happy with this race. The goal tomorrow will be more or less the same. If it rains, anything can happen, but at the moment we’re ready to be in the top five.”
-
The highly anticipated rain did not lead to good results for Team Gresini Racing MotoGP who witness a first, very early drama during the sighting lap, with Alex crashing out while riding over a kerb. The #73 is forced to a huge comeback from last place on the grid (he was originally set to line up on row three), with the tenth place at the flag being more bitter than sweet, knowing his abilities in wet conditions.
Things went even worse on the other side of the pit-box as Marc Marquez is on one had among the absolute protagonists for half of the race, battling for the lead with Bagnaia, but then a mistake followed by a crash led to a massive amount of ground lost. He finished 11th as he extends his lead on Bastianini by two more points for third place overall.
|
10th - ALEX MARQUEZ #73 (12th in the championship standings with 136 point)
“I made a silly mistake on the sighting lap but it wasn’t due to a lack of concentration. I wanted to try a line on the kerb and ended up on the ground. I’m sorry for the team, even though my pace today was worth of a seventh/eighth place, even if I started from row three. We’ll make amends in Malaysia.”
11º - MARC MARQUEZ #93 (3rd in the championship standings with 356 points)
“Today we were the quickest on track, so the result cannot be satisfactory. There was no way to overtake Pecco: I tried it in the safest way possible, but it was easy to make a mistake in these conditions. We did make a mistake, and despite that we ended up eleventh. Then, from the back of the field I had a lot to do in order to score some points, but we managed to do so. Now it is time for Malaysia, a track where we’re likely to struggle.”
|
|
|
-
Team Gresini MotoGP scored points with both riders today as Marc Marquez and Alex Marquez were fourth and fifth in today’s Thai Grand Prix sprint race.
On one side, Marc lost a few points from today’s winner Bastianini in the battle for the championship top three, even though the fifth place on the grid and the crash in Q2 may have led to far worse consequences. Still, he bagged valuable points, with an exciting battle against the Desmosedici GP24 machines ahead – as tomorrow’s race is the real target for the weekend.
Alex Marquez, on the other hand, did not fully shine in qualifying this morning (he was fifth), while he managed to put together a spectacular comeback after recovering three positions at the starts and finishing not far from the frontrunners. The crash by Acosta opened him the doors to the top five. Five, key points were secured in the battle for the top ten in the championship, with Espargaro and Bezzecchi now only six and seven points away, respectively.
4th - MARC MARQUEZ #93 (3rd in the championship standings with 351 points)
“Before the sprint race began, I was confident in my chances to battle for the podium, but I hadn’t taken Enea into consideration. I managed to achieve the target of a second-row qualifying result and I also started well because I was second at turn three, but today we didn’t have the pace to stay with the frontrunners. Tomorrow’s realistic goal is to finish as high as today.”
5th - ALEX MARQUEZ #73 (12th in the championship standings with 130 points)
“It was a good Saturday and let’s say so far a good weekend, too. Without slipstream it wasn’t an easy job to carry out in today’s race, but it went well and I’m happy. Tomorrow’s race is going to be a long one and we’ll need to manage the tyre wear as soon as we can for the end of the race – and there are valuable points up for grabs.”
|
