Marc Marquez started the 2022 MotoGP season finale in Valencia as the top non-Ducati rider, finishing fourth on the timesheets.
The Spaniard quickly finished second behind Fabio Quartararo in FP1 from the start of free practice in the morning. But fell 0.173 to Luca Marini in the afternoon attack.
However, Marquez was pushing his limits and crashing in every session. First, it was the late Turn 2 in the morning and then the much faster bottom at Turn 1 in the afternoon.
In the interview, Marquez explained that his grip level was reasonable compared to Malaysia. His bike is also working better at this grip level. However, he still experienced some problems and did not feel like pushing further.
He decided to take risks as it is the last race. He crashed twice but was still willing to take risks the next day. He said that maybe he will crash again but he wanted to finish the race in a better way. He further said that he had what he had and need to wait until Tuesday to take another step.
For Honda, Valencia is the last hope to avoid becoming the only manufacturer to not win a single MotoGP race during this season.
He continued by saying that the team’s performance will be between Australia's and Malaysia’s performance. He knows that qualifying in the front two rows with a single fast lap will be arduous. However, he will target to be on the third row.
He said that during the races, he was fast, but controls everything. However, in this race, he wanted to see if he has the first inside him. With his actions, he showed that he can push himself whenever he wants.
He also gave some positive news after his improving right-arm condition. He is happy as he was able to improve his arm a lot. He rode the bike normally, which made him push and crash more.
Despite missing six races in the middle of the season following his recent arm surgery, Marquez is the twelfth and best Honda rider in the world championship.