Marc Marquez says he was “just following Ducatis” during the 27-lap MotoGP San Marino Grand Prix, as he was not “able to overtake” Andrea Dovizioso or Jorge Lorenzo.
Marquez made his way up to third in the early laps and hunted down the leading Ducati duo of eventual race winner Dovizioso and Lorenzo, who crashed out of second on the penultimate lap.
The Honda rider was able to get ahead of Lorenzo midway through the race, but was powerless to stop him coming back past despite his best efforts.
Marquez admits when following the Ducatis he was 'losing too much' under acceleration to overtake, and says he only passed Lorenzo because of a mistake by the poleman.
When asked if he thought a late victory charge was possible, he said: “No. I said 'I will stay with him in case Jorge arrives [with Dovizioso] and tries something and then maybe I can take some advantage'.
“But honestly, I was just following Ducatis. I was not able to overtake them. Just when I overtake Jorge, it's because he did a mistake, he go wide, and then I overtake him.
“And then okay, we fight there three laps, four laps, because I was aggressive in that area – but when I follow them I cannot overtake because I lose too much, I try to recover, [it was] difficult.”
Dovizioso's Misano win is Ducati's third in a row since the summer break, with Marquez conceding it is 'lucky' for him the Italian marque did not have a strong opening half to the 2018 campaign.
“But, luckily for us, they [Ducati] come very very strong in the second part of the season.
“We have 67 points advantage, we need to manage. If they gain every race five points, no problem, we will keep going.”
Expanding on his comments about his championship situation, the Honda rider says his mentality remains “attack to defend”, though concedes he cannot make “stupid” mistakes by pushing unnecessarily.
“I'm pushing every weekend. I push in Austria until the last lap, I push here today, in Brno I push but under control.
“I'm pushing and we are working and every Thursday we think that we will win the race. Then every weekend we'll see.
“But the mentality is what I say, attack to defend. But what I cannot do is just do a stupid mistake, I need to manage.
“Today I tried to push, in Austria I pushed a lot until the last lap and in Aragon I will push again.
“But we will see. If we cannot win, the way is finish on the podium in all the races. This is my target.”
