Marc Marquez anticipates a challenging qualifying session at the Japanese MotoGP, citing the unusual behaviour of the rear tyre as a key factor. The Ducati Lenovo Team rider finished Practice in third, behind Pedro Acosta and Alex Marquez.
Marquez was pleased with the feeling on his bike, especially with the newly-resurfaced Motegi circuit offering high grip. "The feeling was good, the new surface works well and the grip was very high," he said. "This makes everything very equal."
He noted that the field is incredibly tight, with just over a second separating the top 19 riders. "We need to keep working because we need to understand the rear tyre especially. It looks like the bike balance is changing between one tyre and the other, and there's still time to work," Marquez added.
The Spaniard highlighted the durability of the soft rear tyre, which allows riders to push for multiple laps. "Tomorrow will be a difficult qualifying because everyone will be very fast," he said. "The fact is here with the rear tyre you have not only one chance, one lap – two, three laps still the rear tyre is working well. So this makes everybody very fast because the most difficult for the time attack is when the tyre can only do a single lap; but here you have more time, or more options, to do the lap time."
Despite the close competition, Marquez singled out Pedro Acosta as the standout rider. "I think at the moment Pedro is the fastest one, on race pace and also on time attack compared to me," he said. "Alex did a very good time attack with the soft tyre, struggled a bit more with the medium. It looks like the ones that used the soft were very fast, so tomorrow we need to try the soft. But on time attack, as we saw, Bezzecchi, Ogura, Martin also were all the time there – the same as always."
With the field so tightly packed, qualifying promises to be a tense affair. Marquez and the Ducati Lenovo Team will need to maximise the soft tyre to secure a strong grid position. The battle with Acosta, Alex Marquez, and title rivals Bezzecchi and Martin will be intense.
The qualifying session will determine whether Marquez can claim pole position or will be left chasing. One thing is certain: he is prepared for the challenge and ready to adapt to the unique tyre characteristics at Motegi.
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