Marc Marquez second-fastest: Victory is "putting fuel in your body”

Marc Marquez didn’t quite repeat his perfect Aragon practice form at the start of the Misano MotoGP weekend.

But last Sunday’s winner came very close.

The Gresini rider, who ended a near three-year victory drought with his debut Ducati victory in Aragon, was second quickest in both Friday practice sessions.

Riding at the scene of his final Honda win, in 2021, Marquez was a fraction behind title leader Jorge Martin (+0.037s) in the morning and beaten by only reigning champion Francesco Bagnaia (+0.185s) in the afternoon.

Most importantly for Marquez, after the slippery Aragon surface, he immediately regained his good feeling from the Red Bull Ring - even though Austria requires a special rear tyre construction, but Misano the 'standard' tyre casing.

“Super happy about the day because the target was to try to start with the same feeling as Red Bull Ring and we did it,” Marquez told MotoGP.com. “The feeling was good and we were able to manage in a good way from FP1.

“But already in FP2, Bagnaia and especially Jorge had very good pace. So it will be difficult to fight with them. But we are there, in those top positions and I’m happy. “

As the lone GP23 rider among four GP24s, Marquez acknowledged that the factory bikes are looking strong.

“There are four 24s in the top five positions! And me there in the middle,” he smiled. “Our bike, it’s true that we are losing in some areas but also we have some strong points and I feel happy with the bike. I'm enjoying and this is the most important.”

And did he feel any difference, being back on track after Sunday’s win?

“I’m 31 years old, it's not a very big change!" Marquez replied. "But it's true that the way to approach the races and way to give more confidence to myself is important.

“Especially when you have a good result, when you have a victory, you are putting in fuel in your body. It's a big motivation to keep going and keep working.”

Marco Bezzecchi was the next best GP23 rider in seventh, with Marc's brother and team-mate Alex Marquez in 18th.