Marc Marquez admits the slower-than-expected pace during Sunday's MotoGP Czech Grand Prix was “welcome” for the third-placed Honda man, as it negated some of the risks of a pack race.
Marquez, who started his 100th premier class race on Sunday, ran in the lead group for the entire 21 laps, and finished third after a late battle with Ducati duo Andrea Dovizioso and Jorge Lorenzo.
Race pace was predicted to be in the mid 1:56s barrier, but Marquez only dropped into the 1:56s on four occasions, as did the Ducati riders ahead of him.
Marquez believes he could have gone a “little bit faster” if he was leading, but felt the risk of running at the front was unnecessary.
“I mean the pace was slow, but for me this was welcome,” Marquez, who now holds a 49-point championship lead, said.
“If you are slow, it's less risk, so more chance to finish the race in a good way.
“So for me, I see that the pace was slow but I say 'Ok, I am behind them', because to be in front was to take more risk and without the slipstream I was able to be a little bit faster but with a lot more risk.
“I saw the pace was slow, but for me not a problem because my target is to finish all the race, and [this is the] worst result of the year in terms of race finishes. But ths is positive.”
With temperatures scorching across the weekend at Brno, tyre life was a concern for many. However, Marquez feels the competitiveness of MotoGP was the main factor in race pace being slower than predicted, rather than the fragility of the tyres.
“The tyres are ok. It's more related about everything being really equal, so nobody wants to push.
“When I lead the race in, for example, Sachsenring, if I wanna push and I feel ok we can do a fast race.
“But when the level is so equal, nobody wants to push, but this I think is good for the show because then we see more riders in the front, waiting to the end to save the tyres.
“It's kind of a different strategy, but I like it, and it depends on the track. Some tracks we are using the soft one, some we are using the hard. But Michelin is working in a good way.”
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