Marc Márquez hoped that it would take longer before the first crash after the comeback. But in FP3 in Aragón it was already there.
Marc Márquez came to MotoGP practice at MotorLand Aragón quite calmly, but he soon got racing fever again; Crew chief Santi Hernandez could hardly wait for his protégé to return. Because only the 59-time MotoGP winner can cover up the obvious weaknesses of the Honda RC213V with his willingness to take risks. As a result, he lost just 0.319s to Pramac-Ducati’s Jorge Martin’s best time in FP2.
Márquez experienced two moments of shock in FP2 on Friday and then said: “At some point I will fall again, that’s part of the occupational hazard.” The Honda star then struggled this morning in FP3 dogged about the direct entry into qualifying 2, in which the top ten from the overall standings from FP1, FP2 and FP3 are admitted. In Q1, the two fastest drivers climb up again.
Marc Márquez first saved himself from a crash in FP3 with a fabulous save at Turn 17, but the front wheel slide at Turn 7 then led to the first crash since returning from fourth humerus surgery. So there wasn’t much left of the planned calm approach. On Thursday, the Aragon GP was still referred to as “training”, also by crew chief Santi Hernandez.
In the meantime, the old “all or nothing” motto has apparently come to the fore again. The current Honda RC213V simply isn’t suited for top 6 results, usually not even for the top 10.
That’s why Marc Márquez is now only 12th ahead of FP4 and qualifying.
Marc had already noticed on Friday that he needed longer to warm up his muscles in the morning than in the afternoon.
“I don’t know how my body will react to the stress on Saturday and Sunday. Since I don’t do any long runs, I have no idea how I’ll cope with the 23-lap race,” says Marc. “But one thing is clear: if you take it easy in today’s MotoGP, you’ll be last. Because the times are very close together. Even if I’m pushing, it’s difficult to get in the top ten. That’s why I ride like I always do, I push and try to find my limit. That’s why it was clear to me: sooner or later the first crash will happen. I would have preferred later… But I have to accept that.”
“I still need to build and strengthen my muscles, but the bones are healing perfectly,” added the 29-year-old Spaniard. «I know that I will suffer in the race. But with the adrenaline in your blood, it’s easier to get over it. If I reduce my pace a bit, I will suffer less. If I see in the race that I’m not strong enough, I’ll slack off. I did that at Le Mans and Mugello, in my last races. I will do the same here. Then we’ll see if the recovery goes in a positive direction for the final races of the season and if I can ride at my 100 percent level from start to finish.”
MotoGP combined times after FP3, Aragón (September 17th):
1.Miller, Ducati, 1:46.992 mins
2. Bagnaia, Ducati, +0.030sec
3. Bezzecchi, Ducati, +0.056
4. Bastianini, Ducati, +0.065
5. Martin, Ducati, +0.090
6. Brad Binder, KTM, +0.175
7. Oliveira, KTM, +0.232
8. Quartararo, Yamaha, +0.266
9. Nakagami, Honda, +0.274
10. Rins, Suzuki, +0.280
11. Aleix Espargaró, Aprilia, +0.329
12. Marc Marquez, Honda, +0.437
13.Marini, Ducati, +0.445
14. Di Giannantonio, Ducati, +0.463
15. Zarco, Ducati, +0.486
16. Alex Marquez, Honda, +0.630
17. Vinales, Aprilia, +0.686
18. Gardner, KTM, +0.726
19. Mir, Suzuki, +0.771
20. Morbidelli, Yamaha, +0.820
21. Crutchlow, Yamaha, +0.961
22. Pol Espargaró, Honda, +0.989
23. Darryn Binder, Yamaha, +1,211
24. Fernández, KTM, +1,650