At Jerez last weekend, the Gresini rider got his first pole position riding a Ducati. During the sprint race, he was leading but fell off the bike. In the main race, he fought back after dropping to fourth place early on. He even competed with Francesco Bagnaia, the reigning double-world champion, for the win.
Eventually, he finished second. This meant a lot to him because he had badly broken his right arm at Jerez in 2020. After that accident, he had to have four surgeries and faced other injuries. During this hard time, Honda’s performance got worse, so he decided to leave and join Gresini Ducati this year.
He said, “Four years ago my nightmare started, and it was super tough. But I hope and I wish that right now my second life starts.” He also thanked everyone who supported him, including Honda for respecting his decision and Gresini and Ducati for giving him the opportunity to ride this year.
Talking about the race, Marquez said that crashing in the sprint race and then losing the lead in the main race made him feel very heavy-hearted. But he still believed that Sunday was the day he could get on the podium. He said, “If I’m there, the show is there.”
He admitted to making a small mistake in the first five laps but said that he was very careful because of the crashes he had seen in Moto2. Despite the challenges, he felt it was important not to crash again because three crashes in a row would be too much for any rider. So, he kept trying and had good speed.
He also shared his experience of racing against Bagnaia. He said that he had the chance to win when he overtook another rider, but Bagnaia defended well. In the end, Bagnaia surprised him with a fast lap in the last two laps, securing the win.
