Marc Márquez’s performance in the Qatar Grand Prix has whetted the appetite within the Gresini Racing ranks. The rider finished the first race of 2024 in a celebrated fourth place.
‘The Qatar Grand Prix was a great first race for Marc with our team. I think he did everything he could to get closer to the team and the bike, and he gave it his all, even coming close to the podium towards the end of the race, but he saw that this time it wasn’t going to happen for him and he finished in fourth. We have to understand that we were on a track that is not our favorite, Marc quickly moved up to the front positions and finished very close to the podium in the first race with this bike. It’s a dream come true. You know the story of his hiring, the journey that was made to get here, and the dialogue we had with Marc. All of that brought him here, and he’s already close to the podium,’ highlighted Carlo Merlini, the commercial director of the Italian team, to AS.
‘In the tests, he didn’t know exactly where he was, but now he’s sure he can be in the front places, be part of the group that is always fighting for victories and I believe we will have a lot of fun with him. Alex [Márquez] also had a good race to start and I believe we have a good team. There are fourth places that leave a bitter taste, but this initial fourth place of Marc has the flavor of a solid performance and you know it didn’t happen by luck and he could be in the front in almost every race. He said the top five was the goal and he achieved it’, added the director.
Merlini also revealed a detail of what happened after the end of the race.
‘Right after arriving at the pits, after the race, I didn’t have the opportunity to talk to him, but just seeing the smile he had was enough to understand what he felt. He had such a big smile that it almost didn’t fit on his face and when Marc smiles… A sad pilot doesn’t perform well and Marc is happy with us. That’s the reason he signed with our team. And we were also very happy’, he concluded.
