Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda RC213V) made a stunning MotoGP debut under the Losail floodlights this evening, finishing the race in a fighting third position. Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda RC213V) crossed the line 3.2 seconds behind his team-mate in fourth place.
Marquez and Pedrosa spent much of the race together, chasing Lorenzo who led from start to finish. Marquez – who afterwards revealed that he was more nervous than ever before the race – made his move on his team-mate with six laps of the 22 laps remaining. Three laps later it was Marquez’s turn to come under pressure as Rossi came past, having made up for a couple of mistakes he had made in the early stages. The pair stayed locked together during the final few laps, providing a thrilling climax to the race. Marquez refused to give in and fought with his more experienced rival all the way to the finish. At the flag he was just 0.221 seconds behind Rossi. It was a remarkable performance from a rider with zero race experience in the premier class.
Pedrosa came into the race following a strong qualifying performance which followed a difficult first two days of practice. The Spaniard had worked with his crew to fix a lack of rear grip but still struggled with the issue during the race. He rode as hard as he knows how but this time he didn’t have the grip he required to match his rivals.
Marc Marquez, Repsol Honda: 3rd
“To tell the truth, I was pretty nervous on the grid because it was my first MotoGP race. I do not think I’ve ever been so nervous before. I found it hard to keep calm and I was not as focused as I used to be in Moto2. However, I regained my concentration at the last moment. The start was important and we knew that we were taking off from the dirty part of the track. I did not get off well, but I was able to attack on the opening laps and overtake many riders. I think that this was the key. When I rode behind Dani I learnt a lot; also later on with Valentino. Fighting against him is always nice to watch, but it’s always tough at the same time. Valentino was a tough rival to try and overtake on the final laps. He beat us this time, but we hope to learn from him and from everyone who went faster than us.”
Dani Pedrosa, Repsol Honda: 4th
“Today’s race was good, in part. I rode strongly and at a good level, although I had to slide around a lot during the entire race to combat a lack of rear grip. I saw from the opening lap that Lorenzo was going much faster and I tried to keep my position, because I knew that in the corners the traction issue came into play. I tried as hard as I could to keep my position, but then Rossi came through at a blistering pace and, to tell the truth, I could not stop him. I did all that I could, but it was not enough. Maybe there was a set-up issue with the rear, because I had problems with it all weekend and we did not have enough grip tonight. In the end I was off the podium, which is a shame considering that we had some good preseason tests and that the set-up was good in those tests. For some reason, it just did not work for us tonight.”
Repsol Honda Team Press Release
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