Thailand poleman Marc Marquez says his scrappy performance in MotoGP Q2, in which he pushed “too much over the limit”, will prove a “good thing for tomorrow”.
Marquez had to go through Q1 for the second time this year after crashing at the end of FP3 when pushing on a well-worn front tyre, which he was forced into doing when he encountered an issue with his number one machine moments before.
Despite this, Marquez sailed through Q1 with a 1:30.031s, before clinching pole with a 1:30.088s in the second session, becoming the first rider in history to take top spot in qualifying despite contesting both segments.
Marquez admits he was “disappointed” to have been in that situation when asked if he was proud of the achievement, and says he was not as comfortable in Q2 when he began to push, which he believes will prove as vital information for Sunday's 26-lap race.
“No, it was not my intention to be in QP1,” he said after clinching his 50th career MotoGP pole by 0.011s.
“I was really disappointed this morning because I was feeling really good, and everything was ready to be straight away to QP2, but it was time to go through QP1.
“But honestly speaking, I was feeling much better in QP1 than QP2 for some reason.
“In QP2 I was pushing too much over the limit, but in QP1 I was smooth and the laptime come easy.
“I expected to be [in the] 1:29s [bracket] in QP2, but I push more and I did more mistakes. So good thing for tomorrow.”
Marquez has gone up against Ducati in every race since the summer break, and believes third-placed Andrea Dovizioso is the “fastest one” heading into the race – though is also wary of the threat posed by Yamaha, with Valentino Rossi and Maverick Vinales starting second and fourth.
“Well, honestly speaking I think everyone will be with the hard rear. Tyre life is important, it's very hot and I think everybody will be with the hard.
“On the paper now, Dovizioso looks very strong, looks like he is the fastest one. We are very close, then both Yamahas were also very fast in FP4.
“They were able to ride in 31-middle/low consistently. So will be tough, but the last 10 laps in the race will be crucial because the tyre drop a little bit.
