After a solid weekend in Mandalika, Marc Marquez is back in Japan. He has always been very fast on this track: last year, he achieved the feat of climbing onto the podium with the Honda RC213V, also thanks to the rain. That’s good: the weather is still uncertain this weekend, and there is no doubt that he could do well if Mother Nature makes the Japanese skies cry. In any case, he was ranked second in Practice, not far from Brad Binder, in full possession of his means. And yet, everything did not go as planned.
Marc Marquez was not the happiest at the end of this Practice. « It’s a strange day. I changed bikes several times. I didn’t feel well. I may have appeared angry, but I wasn’t really angry, I just wanted to keep the intensity level high. Then in the last few outings we tried something different and it got better » confided the eight-time world champion to the microphones of Sky Sports. Fortunately for him, this concern did not translate into the clock: he was the fastest Ducati.
If this final position suggests great things for the rest of the weekend, he is not yet convinced.
« Unfortunately we didn’t do good laps with the worn tireswe don’t know where we stand with this compound. During the race, the choice of tire will be fundamental. Overall, there is still a lot of room for improvement » he continued, without saying more about his conclusions concerning the rubbers tested or not.
Photo :
Michelin Motorsport
Finally, he still suggested that his choice would not fall on the softest option brought by Michelin to the archipelago: “The soft tire suffered a big drop. It can become an unknown in the race, especially in the event of a change of motorcycle at the stand. We have the same choices as last year” he concluded.
Despite his words, do you see Marc Marquez as a favorite for both races? Tell us in the comments!
Practice result at the 2024 MotoGP Japanese Grand Prix:
Ranking credit: MotoGP.com
Cover photo: Michelin Motorsport
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