Marc Marquez could not hide his frustration after the MotoGP Austrian sprint race at the Red Bull Ring. The Ducati rider finished second but admitted his pace was far from enough to challenge Aprilia and KTM. For him, the main culprit is the special rear casing Michelin has brought to Spielberg.
From the first free practice, Marquez already felt something was off. His Desmosedici GP26 did not provide the grip he usually enjoys at other circuits. "We are struggling. We struggled a lot in Thailand and we struggle again here," he said. "We know that it's a different casing. It's the same for everybody and the tyres are working well, but we need to understand well how to be better with that casing."
Michelin indeed brings a stiffer rear casing for high-load circuits such as Buriram, Goiania, Red Bull Ring, and Mandalika. The aim is to withstand extreme pressure and temperature. However, for Ducati, this tyre characteristic actually causes them to lose performance. "Since FP1, all Ducatis were struggling more than usual," Marquez added.
In the sprint race, Marquez initially took the lead at Turn 1, but was then overtaken by Pedro Acosta, who rode his KTM aggressively. Within half the race, Marquez was over two seconds behind Acosta. He also could not hold off Jorge Martin, who recovered from eighth to pass him on lap 8. Fortunately for Marquez, Acosta crashed three laps from the end, promoting him to second.
This result puts Martin at the top of the standings, three points ahead of Marquez. More worryingly, Marquez was the only Ducati rider on the podium. His teammate, Francesco Bagnaia, finished sixth, while Alex Marquez was fifth. Other Ducati riders, Fermin Aldeguer and Fabio di Giannantonio, were even beaten by Johann Zarco (LCR Honda) and had to settle for eighth and tenth.
Marquez stressed that the problem is purely down to the tyre, not changes to the bike. "For me, yes, because we don't change the bike a lot compared to the [recent] races and I was fast; all the Ducatis were also very fast. Here, since FP1, all Ducatis were struggling more than usual, but that's it," he explained.
The duel between Marquez and Martin was one of the highlights of the sprint race. The two fought hard in the early corners, with Marquez initially coming out on top. However, Martin fought back and forced Marquez wide. Nevertheless, Marquez remains optimistic for Sunday's main race, provided the Ducati team can quickly find a solution to the troublesome Michelin rear tyre.
Baca Juga
Alex Marquez sebut Sprint MotoGP Austria 'nol kesenangan' karena Ducati kesulitan grip ban belakang. Simak analisis dan komentarnya.
Fabio Di Giannantonio alami masalah grip ban belakang di Sprint MotoGP Austria. Ia sebut situasi ini tidak biasa dan bertekad bangkit di balapan utama.
Pecco Bagnaia akui saran Dani Pedrosa soal fokus pada pemahaman motor membantunya di sprint MotoGP Austria. Bagnaia finis keenam dengan ban medium.
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