Marc Marquez is not holding back. The Ducati rider has vowed to go on the attack from Saturday onwards at the Japanese Grand Prix after acknowledging that Pedro Acosta set the benchmark on Friday.
In the first practice session, Marquez had to settle for third place, behind his younger brother Alex Marquez, who topped the times with a record-breaking 1m42.811s, and Acosta, who was just 0.076s adrift in second. The seven-time world champion admitted that Acosta's speed, especially in race simulation, poses a serious threat.
“You manage yourself on Fridays, but from Saturday onwards, you have to go all out because the others are very fast,” Marquez said. “At the moment, Pedro is the fastest one on race pace and also on the time attack compared to me. Alex did a very good time attack with the soft rear tyre. I struggled a bit more with the medium, but it looks like the ones who used the soft were very fast.”
Marquez plans to change his approach for the rest of the weekend. He intends to try the soft tyre more effectively in qualifying while keeping an eye on rivals like Marco Bezzecchi, Ai Ogura, and Jorge Martin, who have shown consistent speed.
This shift in strategy is not without reason. As MotoGP enters the Asian leg of the calendar, Marquez admits he will switch from a more measured approach at tracks where he considered himself weaker to a more aggressive stance. Moreover, the presence of KTM's Acosta has disrupted the Ducati and Aprilia duopoly.
“We have to go on attack at all the circuits,” he emphasized. “In the remaining seven, we have to attack, especially on Saturdays and Sundays. Obviously, when you attack, there is more risk. But the bar is going up.”
Meanwhile, Alex Marquez acknowledged that his older brother had strong race pace, particularly on the more durable medium tyre. “I was feeling good on the time attack and on race pace. For sure, we need to improve because Marc was super fast with a medium rear on race pace. But we are not bad, and we need to keep pushing and keep going,” Alex explained.
With competition intensifying, Day 2 at Motegi will be the real test for Marquez to prove that his attacking strategy can pay off. Will Acosta once again stand in his way, or will Marquez turn the tables?
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