Marc Márquez had a very positive start to the season with Gresini Racing, achieving fourth place at the Qatar GP. A satisfying result not only for the six-time champion but for the entire team.
Gresini’s Commercial Director, Carlo Merlini, spoke to the newspaper AS about the Spaniard’s performance, reserving many praises: ‘Qatar was a great first Grand Prix for Marc with our team. I think he did everything he could to get close to the team and the bike and gave it his all, getting 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 fourth. We have to understand that we were on a track that is not our favorite, Marc quickly reached 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 signing, the path that was taken to get here, and the dialogue we had with Marc. All of that brought him here, and he’s already close to the podium’.
The Italian believes that it was evident that Marc Márquez can fight for top positions: ‘In the tests, he wasn’t sure where he stood exactly, but now he’s certain he can be at the front, be part of the group that’s always fighting for wins, and I think we’re going to have a lot of fun with him. Álex [Márquez] also had a good race to start, and I think we have a good team. There are fourth places that leave a bitter taste, but this initial fourth place for Marc has the flavor of a solid performance, and you know it didn’t happen by luck and that he can be at the front in almost every race. He said the top five was the goal, and he achieved it’.
Merlini also shared a behind-the-scenes aspect that demonstrated Marc Márquez’s happiness: ‘Right after he arrived in the pits, after the race, I didn’t have the opportunity to talk to him, but just seeing the smile he had, you could tell what he was feeling. He had such a big smile that it almost didn’t fit on his face, and when Marc smiles… A sad rider doesn’t perform well, and Marc is happy with us. That’s why he signed with our team. And we were also very happy’.