Marc Marquez believes he isn’t the quickest MotoGP rider on this weekend’s Thailand Grand Prix regardless of topping Friday observe with a brand new lap file.
Returning to the scene of his sixth and most up-to-date MotoGP World Championship title victory in 2019, Marquez was in slick kind all through the day en path to the general high spot in Friday afternoon’s P2 session.
Stopping the clock at 1m29.165s on the Gresini Ducati, his effort was sufficient for him to edge out championship Jorge Martin by simply over a tenth of a second and decrease the erstwhile lap file.
Coming after he notched up his third victory of the season in Phillip Island lower than every week in the past, a buoyant Marquez is eager to make that precursor to reaching his goal of enhancing his qualifying performances.
Nevertheless, Marquez urged that observe outcomes didn’t present a real image of the pecking order, insisting that riders like Pramac’s Martin once more hesitated from displaying their true tempo on Friday.
“I’m pleased to have began the weekend on this means, which is essential,” he mentioned. “It’s true that the tempo is nice, it’s not the quickest one like in Australia.
“I believe Martin is quicker than us and [Enea] Bastianini, when he’s quick on Friday it implies that he will likely be tremendous quick all weekend, however let’s see what we are able to do.”
Jorge Martin, Pramac Racing
Photograph by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Photos
The optimistic opener leaves Marquez optimistic of the same problem in direction of the sharp finish in qualifying, an space the place the Spaniard has struggled for consistency in his first season racing Ducati equipment.
The 31-year-old has certified on the entrance row solely three time because the summer season break, with a mean beginning place of 6.25 throughout this era.
“I’ve the potential that from the preliminary second I’m driving very quick,” he added. “Within the first a part of the season I used to be all the time struggling on the Friday and I’d enhance quite a bit over the weekend.
“Now I’m beginning Friday with an excellent tempo so the best way to enhance is secure. Already the lap file, so if I can do a 1m 29.1s [in qualifying] I’ll join it.”
Marquez is retaining a lid on his expectations for Saturday’s qualifying session, saying he will likely be pleased so long as he is ready to qualify inside the primary two rows on the grid.
“Right here everyone seems to be pushing and making an attempt to get the utmost,” he mentioned. “Each Martín and Pecco Bagnaia are elevating the bar very excessive, however we even have our private battle between me and Enea Bastianini and that, individually not less than, leads me to take fairly a couple of dangers to attempt to be there with them.
“I had an excellent lap and it is actually optimistic to start out a Friday like this. However tomorrow is the day we now have to set a transparent and practical objective, which is to attempt to be on the second row.”
Marquez stays the one rider to attain a grand prix victory on final yr’s Ducati GP23 bike in a season that has been dominated by the most recent iteration of the Desmosedici.
Whereas a fouth victory would make 2024 his most profitable season his final title-winning marketing campaign in 2019, he reiterated that his objective is to construct on his latest outcomes and put himself in the very best place for his yr with the manufacturing unit Ducati group.
“Clearly the extra victories the higher, however it’s an irrelevant reality, which you keep in mind now as a result of I’m there, however in any other case no one remembers [in the future],” he mentioned.
“Clearly if I can win 4 races it’s higher than three, however the essential factor is to proceed with this consistency that I’m displaying, since Austria I’ve taken a small step and I’m confirming it in all of the circuits I am going to.”