Marc Marquez returns to Motegi under vastly different circumstances. A year ago, he arrived in Japan with a 182-point lead over younger brother Alex, sealing his ninth world championship with five rounds to spare. Now, the Ducati rider trails championship leader Jorge Martin by 12 points.
“This year is a normal championship. Last year wasn't normal to arrive in Motegi with that big advantage,” Marquez said on Thursday. “But this year things went in a different way. The most important is that one more year we are in a title fight, and we will try to do our best.”
The season started disastrously for Ducati, outperformed by Aprilia in the early rounds, while Marquez underwent follow-up surgery on his Mandalika shoulder injury. After Mugello, he was 102 points behind then-leader Marco Bezzecchi. But a remarkable fightback took him to the championship lead by Misano, having won five grands prix in seven rounds.
However, his reign was short-lived. Marquez had to ‘survive’ at Assen and Silverstone, and was again on the back foot in Austria. Ducati’s weakness on the stiffer rear tyre, combined with brake issues, cost him ground to Martin in both races, leaving him 12 points adrift ahead of this weekend.
Motegi is another demanding circuit for braking, but Marquez is confident Ducati has identified the cause of his Austrian problem. “The most important is that they found what happened in the race,” he said. “It was something that was visible on the data, they found the problem. We will try to fix, because it's another very important race, but I'm confident.”
Like Austria, Motegi has traditionally been a strong Ducati venue, but the complete resurfacing and availability of the same reinforced rear tyre used at the Red Bull Ring adds uncertainty. “It looks like Acosta and all four Aprilias are very fast, especially also Ogura, who came back in a very strong way in Austria,” said Marquez. “We will try to do our best. But the most important is that we are always there in the front row, fighting for the podiums. It's not like last year, but it's not like the previous years, looks like everything is more equal, and we need to understand well where our level is.”
Motegi is immediately followed by Mandalika, where the stiffer rear tyre will be compulsory and most Ducati riders struggled last season - including Marquez, who was just sixth in the Sprint before being injured on the opening lap of the grand prix. Does last year's Mandalika form make it even more important to gain points at Motegi? “No, race by race, day by day. Especially because you don't know if in Indonesia it will rain or not, you don't know if in Indonesia I will feel better or worse,” he concluded.
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