Marc Marquez has shared his reasoning for not pursuing MotoGP champion Francesco Bagnaia for the last podium position at the British Grand Prix, revealing that his crash during the sprint weighed heavily on his mind.
The Gresini racer was in fourth place with just five laps remaining in the Silverstone MotoGP event, with Ducati’s Bagnaia ahead as the sole barrier to his fifth podium of the season.
Even though Bagnaia was riding cautiously towards the race’s conclusion and appeared susceptible to an overtaking attempt, Marquez opted to maintain his position rather than chase him down.
The six-time champion remarked that while Bagnaia was within reach on Sunday, he wanted to avoid ending his Silverstone weekend with double retirements, having already withdrawn from the sprint due to a fall on the penultimate lap.
“Had it not been for Saturday’s crash, a podium finish might have been attainable – or perhaps another crash, you never know,” he noted.
“After overtaking Aleix [Espargaro], I pushed hard for two or three laps to create a gap, then I managed my pace behind Pecco to keep my mentality in check. I didn’t want to repeat the same mistakes on both Saturday and Sunday.”
“For that reason, I decided it was better to finish the race and leave with a good feeling ahead of the next round in Austria, rather than arriving there without confidence.”
Marc Marquez, Gresini Racing crash
Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
Marquez kicked off the British GP weekend struggling and admitted to feeling “lost” on Friday, relying on a tow from Pramac’s Jorge Martin to secure his advancement into Q2.
He once again needed assistance from slipstream during qualifying when Saturday’s session commenced, but this strategy went awry when he found himself stuck behind the slower VR46 riders Fabio di Giannantonio and Marco Bezzecchi.
A fourth-place finish appeared attainable in the sprint after Bagnaia’s early exit, but with just two laps left, Marquez lost the front at Vale, resulting in yet another DNF for 2024.
In contrast, Sunday’s race showcased the 31-year-old’s strongest performance of the weekend, as he passed the sluggish-starting Brad Binder, his brother Alex Marquez, and Espargaro, advancing from seventh to fourth.
The Spaniard remarked that being able to maintain the same pace as the frontrunners early in the race was the “best surprise” of the weekend, especially given the struggles he faced throughout the three days at Silverstone.
He explained: “Honestly, [fourth place] was quite a pleasant surprise because the main aspect of the weekend is that we were often lagging behind.”
Marc Marquez, Gresini Racing
Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
“During the warm-up, we implemented a change that improved my performance, which allowed me to keep pace with the front runners at the start of the race; that was the best surprise for me.”
“Historically, I haven’t been competitive with the medium rear and medium front tires, but I felt incredibly comfortable during the race.”
“I remained quite cautious towards the end because I still had Saturday’s error on my mind.”
