Marc Marquez stunned the MotoGP paddock with a last-minute decision to switch to Michelin's medium rear tyre, a move that proved decisive in his victory in the San Marino Grand Prix sprint. While 15 of the 21 riders opted for the soft compound, Marquez took a different risk and reaped the rewards.
This strategy put him at odds with polesitter Marco Bezzecchi, who remained on the soft tyre even as his Aprilia team-mate Jorge Martin switched to the medium rubber. In theory, Bezzecchi's soft rear tyre should have given him an advantage off the line, but it was Marquez who made the best launch from second on the grid, repeating his successful Turn 1 move from the Aragon sprint.
The factory Ducati rider pulled out an advantage of over a second in the opening five laps, and although Bezzecchi came back at him late in the race, he was able to open up the gap again en route to his sixth sprint win of the year.
Speaking afterwards, Marquez said he switched tyre compounds on the starting grid after concluding that victory would have been out of reach if he had stayed on the soft rubber. "I believed that the way to work with the soft was the correct one for the sprint race. But then, step by step, I understood and we analysed with Ducati that both tyres were very equal," he explained.
"With both tyres it was possible to finish on the podium in the sprint. But the feedback, the data and all these things gave me the idea to go with the medium. I knew that with the soft I was able to finish second or third. And with the medium I was able to finish second, third or [score] victory. So, it gave me that extra boost to fight with Bezzecchi."
Asked why he thought he wouldn't be able to win the race with the soft rear, Marquez said it would have been a risky choice after both his brother Alex Marquez and Fabio di Giannantonio crashed in qualifying. "It was not impossible, but it was more risky, and with the medium I was able to manage better. It depends on the bike, it depends on the riding style. But with the soft this morning, we had some problems. I saw that it was a bit risky. As you saw in qualifying many Ducati riders crashed in the same way. So, with the medium, I believe that the problem was better for the experience I had on a Ducati."
Marquez also believes Bezzecchi potentially lost the race by staying on the soft tyre, saying his Aprilia rider would have put up a sterner challenge if he had followed the same strategy as his title rivals. "The race was decided by that rear tyre. I went out confident with the medium tyre, and sometimes that makes the difference," he concluded.
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