The start of the MotoGP Catalan GP was not encouraging for Marc Márquez, who failed to qualify for the second round of qualifying and started from 14th. However, he made a comeback and finished on the podium in both races.
The Gresini rider admitted that the first year with a new manufacturer presents challenges that can lead to a slow start to the weekend: ‘It’s one of the difficult things when you are on the first year with a bike. In every circuit you can check a bit what they did last year, but with your riding style everything is different. And then when we start and we have some problems, we are always on delay’.
Márquez made progress on Saturday and, although he is satisfied with the third place in the main race, he admitted that they need to improve on the time attack:
– On Saturday’s morning I tried something that helps me a lot, that was more on the direction of the other Ducatis, and that gave me already the pace. But now we need to understand how to make the time attack, how to avoid that front push that is one of the problems of the 2023 bike. But I’m super happy because we lose a little bit there, but then we gain in another points. I’m happy and here in Montmeló to me was super important be on the podium because it’s one of the most difficult circuit.
Regarding what changed in the Ducati Desmosedici GP23 that allowed him to be more competitive, the eight-time world champion clarified: ‘Set-up, and then with the set-up you adjust the electronics: each set-up has its electronics’.