'Big risk' backfires for Marquez, 'tomorrow is the day to come back'

The six-time MotoGP champion is currently 19th on combined times after a crash at turn six, then again three corners later, heavily conditioned his FP2. 

Marquez started off fast in FP1 as he challenged day-one pacesetter Fabio Quartararo, however, Marquez eventually slid down to 11th after finding it more difficult to improve compared to others around him. 

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The Repsol Honda rider used the same bike as in Portimao for FP1, but after making ‘big’ changes to his second bike during the afternoon, things began to go wrong. 

Marquez, who was already encountering the raft of team-mate Pol Espargaro and Remy Gardner due to slowing on the exit of turn 12 - happened again with Aleix Esaprgaro at the end of the session - crashed on his preferred package, which is why the remainder of FP2 was relatively low key for the 29 year-old. 

"Today we took a little bit of a risk to try some big things," said Marquez. "In the morning I rode with more or less the same bike to start building my pace because the track was not in the best condition. 

"In the afternoon I tried some other things and unfortunately, I crashed on the bike that I was feeling good with and I couldn’t continue, then the second bike was a big change because we were trying some things and I did not feel well on it. 

"We need to improve and close the distance to the front, tomorrow is the day to come back to what we know to take the maximum amount we can before testing again on Monday."

Despite his brilliant comeback ride in Austin, Marquez is yet to gel with the new RC213V as it’s a bike that’s not giving him the feeling he needs on the front-end, thus leading to a lot of crashes through the opening six rounds.

The second crash for Marquez was caused by hitting a wet patch at turn nine, as was the case for Fabio Quartararo during FP1. 

Espargaro on the other hand has found a much better feeling with the new Honda, however, he too needs more if he’s to challenge for a podium this weekend. 

After finishing eighth - three tenths shy of Quartararo’s best effort - Espargaro believes one-lap pace is the main issue ahead of qualifying. 

Espargaro added: "It’s time to focus on riding the bike so we can move forward, that’s the objective for the weekend. 

"We are here to do our best and keep working, that’s what we did today. There were some things that we tried in FP1 and FP2, but during a race weekend you’re very tight on time so you have to find the balance. 

"Our rhythm is looking quite good but we need to improve our one-lap speed a bit, half a second from Fabio is a bit too much. But there are some spots that are shining so we can be pleased with the start we made."

Can Marquez fight back ahead of Sunday’s MotoGP?

FP3 is going to be a huge session for Marquez as grip and track temperatures are likely to be in their optimal range. 

The Honda rider’s pace in FP1 demonstrated he could be a force come Sunday, but with one-lap performance continuing to be an issue, how well Marquez qualifies could once again determine the outlook of his race, as it did at Portimao. 

Until the two crashes happened Marquez was running inside the top ten, so P19 on combined times is nowhere near his true pace.