Honda MotoGP rider Marc Marquez said he was happy to capture what he thought would be an ‘unexpected’ victory in the Catalan grand prix.
The champion reckoned that after Friday practice he would struggle to fight for the win against the likes of factory Yamaha pilots Maverick Vinales and Valentino Rossi, as well as Yamaha satellite squad Petronas SRT’s Fabio Quartararo.
When team-mate Jorge Lorenzo instigated a crash that took out both factory Yamaha men, as well as title rival Andrea Dovizioso, Marquez was given the perfect chance to add a fourth victory to his 2019 tally.
He duly did, beating a charging Quartararo by 2.6 seconds when the flag dropped at the conclusion of the 24-lap encounter.
“On Friday I didn’t expect to fight for the victory, Saturday I started to see that it was possible. Then on Sunday warm-up I saw that it was definitely possible,” explained Marquez.
“We improved step by step and did a really solid job, we were always there, and improving maybe not hugely but always bit by bit and we chose the best option for the race and this helped a lot.
“My strategy was always to be very strong at the start of the race and manage the situation in the end, and that’s exactly what we did.”
Marquez also revealed that he was unaware during the race of the crash that had eliminated both factory Yamaha’s, and that he only knew about the fate of chief rival Dovizioso.
“I didn’t know (about the crash behind) until I finished the race.
“Because all I saw on the board was ‘Dovi out’, because I said to the team I only want to know if something happens to him, the others I didn’t care I just wanted to work for the championship.”
Marquez’s victory, coupled with Dovizioso’s DNF, means he now carries a formidable 37 point championship advantage to the next round of the MotoGP world championship, which takes at Assen for the Dutch TT in two weeks time.
