Marquez explains Silverstone sprint tyre issue 'we never had'

Marc Marquez says he was disappointed after finishing ninth in the MotoGP British Grand Prix sprint at Silverstone on Saturday (8 August 2026). The Ducati Corse rider suffered an extreme rear tyre drop, an issue he claims he never experienced during practice.

In the early stages of the 10-lap race, Marquez was fighting for the top four before his pace fell off a cliff. The gap between his fastest and slowest laps was around five seconds, and he barely held onto a single point by just 0.027s.

“I'm disappointed because we experienced a new feeling in the sprint race, that on the practice we never had that drop on the rear tyre. I was not the only one; many riders had it, but I was the one that suffered more because it started super early,” Marquez told media, including Crash.

Baca JugaMotoGP Silverstone: Martin Raih Sprint, Marquez Terpuruk

“Already on lap four I started to feel a massive drop, and then I just tried to survive and finish the race. Because when I was in that seventh position, sixth position, I was suffering a lot, risking a lot to have a crash, and the difference in points between sixth or zero is only three, four points,” he added.

Marquez also clarified the issue was graining, not degradation, and he doubts the medium rear will solve it in the main race. “I hope, I wish, but on the papers, soft and medium are very, very similar tyres. Left [side] compound is the same, right [side] compound is the same family, only one step harder, so it's not a big difference between tyres,” he explained.

In the latter stages, Marquez had a big moment defending his position, which was so severe that it deployed his suit's airbag. “I had a massive shake with that rear tyre and the airbag deployed, because I was already on the floor. But then the airbag deployed, but luckily I stayed on the bike,” he said.

Marquez now sits 29 points behind championship leader Jorge Martin, who extended his lead to 17 after winning Saturday's sprint. He will start Sunday's race from sixth on the grid after aborting a potential pole lap due to misreading a flag.