Marc Marquez heads into the French MotoGP race with renewed confidence, buoyed by his stellar efficiency in Spain, the place he claimed second place in an exhilarating duel with two-time defending champion Francesco Bagnaia.
Despite this, the 31-year-old stays cautiously optimistic about his possibilities of clinching a seventh world championship title.
In latest years, Marquez has confronted setbacks attributable to accidents and imaginative and prescient points, main some to doubt his skill to return to peak kind.
However, his pole place and relentless pursuit of Bagnaia on the Jerez circuit aboard his satellite tv for pc Ducati-Gresini marked a major milestone in his comeback journey.
This achievement stands as his strongest end result since ending because the runner-up within the Australian MotoGP in October 2022.
“I won, in terms of my plan, in the path I have in my head, and I am getting better and better,” mentioned Marquez.
“Now I must maintain my consistency from the last few races.”
Marquez, whose 59th and final win got here on the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix in October 2021, lies simply 32 factors adrift of collection chief Jorge Martin after 4 races.
However, he dismisses any discuss of him being a title contender.
“For me, it is way too early,” he mentioned. “That is to not say I do not wish to win the title, however it’s too early to consider it as a result of I do know, and I already understood, I’ll have loads of bother on a number of tracks.
“We shall see, but for the moment it is necessary to approach the races like that.”
‘Calm me down’
Marquez, although, is stunned he’s simply over 30 factors adrift of his compatriot Martin, who rides a Ducati-Pramac.
“I am really surprised because I had a terrible start to the campaign,” he mentioned.
“That suggests we’re racing to our limits, that there’ll nonetheless be a number of zeros and the title race will likely be very shut.
“For me, it is already a source of pride to be battling with the Ducati leaders.”
Jerez was additionally equally vital for Ducati manufacturing facility rider Bagnaia as he had not gained because the season opener in Qatar. He is now simply 17 factors off Martin.
The 25-year-old is in search of a 3rd successive world title.
If profitable, he could be the primary Italian to be a triple world champion on an Italian-manufactured bike because the legendary Giacomo Agostini gained his third (1966) of eight titles on the MV Agusta.
“Our goal is always to win,” Bagnaia informed Speedweek.
“The season is long, and even though Jorge Martin took a lead at the start, I am confident in our ability to come back. We closed the gap, and every race counts.”
Bagnaia – a superstitious kind who will as ever undergo his pre-race routine “touch the bike, kiss my glove and tap the tank as it calms me down” – mentioned this yr’s marketing campaign reminds him of his first championship-winning yr.
“We have collected a lot of data that should help us overcome the current problems,” he mentioned.
“This is a similar situation to 2022, and I am confident we will succeed.”
Source: www.dailysabah.com