'Everyone will be faster' - Marc Marquez faces first MotoGP 'double'

There have been five back-to-back MotoGP races held at the same circuit since the coronavirus pandemic first played havoc with the world championship calendar in March of 2020.

But eight-time world champion Marc Marquez hasn't completed any of them.

The Repsol Honda rider broke his right arm in the opening Jerez round last season and, after being forced to withdraw from the return event the following weekend, was ultimately sidelined for nine months.

Marquez will thus get his first real experience of consecutive events at the same circuit in Austria, where the Spaniard will be back on track just five days after finishing eighth in the 'Styrian Grand Prix'.

"It will be my first ‘double Grand Prix’, since last year I did not race any, so it will be interesting," Marquez said. "With a double-race rider already have some good references of the track since Friday morning and everyone will be faster."

No rider has managed to win both back-to-back races since Fabio Quartararo in the very first double header at Jerez 2020.

"There could be many factors in play [to change the result seen in the first race] such as tyres, air temperature or position on the grid," said Marquez.

Younger brother Alex Marquez, who finished just one-second behind the #93 on Sunday, has more experience of the back-to-backs.

"In a 'double Grand Prix' you see which rider is capable of improving and manages problems best from one weekend to the next," said the LCR Honda rider.

"You always try to improve in the second race by looking for solutions to problems that you already experimented days ago. You can also have the case of doing very well at the first racing weekend and the next you get 'stuck'. You have to avoid that. You always try to go forward.

"I hope that this time we are more consistent than in the first outing and make fewer mistakes. Last weekend we achieved a positive result, but I think we can improve it. It is a good starting point and we have to see how we evolve."

While some factories seemed to make more progress than others in the second events last season, in general the competition was closer.

"Having a double Grand Prix allows teams and riders access to have more data for the second race," said Suzuki's Alex Rins, seventh on Sunday. "The level among teams and rides is higher, so you have to be even more focused to avoid mistakes.

"I will try to improve the result of our first race, solve the problems we had with the brakes and see what we can do.”