MÁRQUEZ HEADS TO MUGELLO FOR THE ITALIAN GP

Marc Márquez is en route to Mugello for round 6 of the MotoGP World Championship, the Gran Premio d’Italia, after a very difficult week sadly marked by the loss of fellow Honda rider and close friend Nicky Hayden.

On Wednesday of last week, Marc Marquez took part in a productive one-day test at Circuit de Catalunya, and he now prepares for two back-to-back races in Mugello and Montmeló.

Marc scored the first GP win of his career in the 2010 125cc race and went on to collect two additional victories: 1 x Moto2 (2011) and 1 x MGP (2014). He also scored a second-place result last year at the Italian track, and he has two pole positions.

Marc Márquez: “We were preparing to leave for Montmeló for a one-day test last week when we received the terrible news of Nicky’s passing. He was a great rider and an incredible person. I remember once, when I was a kid of 15 at the very beginning of my career in the world championship and he was the MotoGP World Champion: We took part in an event together and my English was very poor, so he tried to speak Spanish and he was very funny and easy-going, treating me as if I was his little brother. And then we shared the garage last year in Australia and had a great party together after the race. Like his amazing family, he had a great passion for motorcycling, and he will always be in our hearts. As for the test, we worked on the bike setup and we especially focused in trying the Michelin front tyre that we’ll use starting with the next race in Mugello. With this tyre I experienced less movement on the front, and the feeling was more consistent throughout the lap. It remains to understand how it will go for an entire race, but anyway, with my riding style I generally feel better with it and I’m confident that in Mugello it will help me a bit more.”

MARC MÁRQUEZ CRASHES OUT IN LE MANS

Marc had a good start and was keeping a fast pace in fourth position when he lost the front and crashed out of the race in the first corner on lap 18. Despite today’s DNF, Marc is fourth in the Championship, 27 points down on Viñales. Marc Márquez will take part in a test in Catalunya this week.

Marc Marquez: “Of course today wasn’t the best for us. It’s a shame as I was really focused on trying to finish the race. Since yesterday, I haven’t felt totally comfortable with the front and and it seems like the first sector of the track wasn’t ‘my’ sector this weekend! I knew what my pace was and that the Yamaha riders were stronger today, but my target was to fight for four or fifth place and just be competitive until the end. I tried to be careful but then for some reason I lost the front very quickly. I didn’t expect this mistake but the good thing is that we’re not very far back, only 27 off the lead. I hope that I’ll have more confidence in the front with the new tyre Michelin is bringing. We have to work hard and try to recover but I look forward to doing better in the next races.”

MÁRQUEZ LOOKING FOR HIS 3RD STRAIGHT PODIUM IN LE MANS

Marc Marquez is en route to France for round 5 of the MotoGP World Championshipafter scoring one win and one additional podium finish in the last two races.

The next challenge for Marc Márquez comes at the historic, stop-and-go Le Mans Circuit, which has recently been resurfaced. The Spanish rider has moved up in the standings to third (-4 points). Marc Marquez has 2 wins: 1 x Moto2 (2011), and 1 x MGP (2014), plus an additional 2 podiums and 5 pole positions.

Marc Marquez: “Le Mans is particular and different from many other layouts of the Championship. It’s a really narrow, short track with a lot of stop-and-go corners. To make an example, it’s the opposite of the Montmeló circuit [Circuit de Catalunya], but still quite enjoyable. The surface is new and we’ll discover it on Friday morning. The grip should be better and that’s positive for us riders and also for the fans as it means a better show. We must wait and see how it goes there—this year it’s even more difficult to make any predictions. We just have to continue like we’ve done in the last races, working hard, with the right mentality, because the Championship is once again very close.”

MÁRQUEZ, EXCITED WITH FIRST HOME RACE

MotoGP Championship has returned to Europe following the first three overseas races, fresh from a victory finish in Austin, and determined to continue the good work in order to keep fighting at the front.

A Michelin test was planned on Monday at Le Mans (France), but overnight rainfall followed by cold temperatures meant that conditions made it impossible to take full advantage of a testing day. A post-lunch exploratory car lap by Marc Marquez confirmed this, so the team decided to completely cancel the test to avoid losing one of the five days of private tests allowed this season.

The squad subsequently moved on to Southern Spain for Round 4 of the MotoGP Championship, in Jerez, where Marc has stood on the podium in all top class participations, winning in 2014, and got 3 pole positions. As usual, Marc Marquez s will be able to count on the warm support of his fan clubs from the grandstands.

Marc Marquez: “I’m happy the next round is back in Spain after three flyaway GPs, because racing at home and in front of my fan club is always special. Of course our win in Austin gave the whole team more confidence and motivation to keep up the hard work and to try to understand how to further improve our bike’s setup, although Jerez is one of the most difficult and tricky circuits from that point of view. It’s kind of an ‘old school’ track: very short, very narrow, with heavy acceleration points and strong braking areas. You have to make the bike turn well but you also need good stability under braking, because that’s where you can get good lap times. It’s a circuit where our opponents are always very fast, but anyway, I think we’ll be able to do well if we work well starting on Friday morning.”