Marc Marquez admitted that he require riders in front of him to dormant the MotoGP French Grand Prix to score a distant sixth.
He, being a six-time world champion, is struggling to be in the form of his drastically overhauled 2022 Honda and managed to secure 10th position in the grid. Before the race, he was confident about his pace for competing with the best top seven, with Spaniard being in the sixth. He let Pramac’s Johann Zacro go ahead on purpose.
However, if the Suzuki riders and long-time race leader Francesco Bagnaia hadn’t crashed in the race, it would have become effortless for Marc to qualify in the ninth position.
When Motosport.com asked him about the situation, he replied that he might be in the ninth position without crashes. However, three riders crashed and helped them to secure the sixth position. He was not able to fasten up his speed.
He also said when Zarco overtook him, he went wide purposefully to save his time. He let Zarco pass him and even tried to follow him in some laps. However, when he witnessed the difference between his and Zarco’s speed, he decided to just finish the race.
During practice, Marquez had a vast moment, which tweaked his right arm that was badly injured in 2020. Although it didn’t cause too much problem in the race, he admits he was not well on Sunday. He said that he got up and didn’t feel well. It was not just his body but his arm too. And since it was race day, he need to race.
He was also struggling during the warm-up. He got into the box, go out for the practice start, and had a strange shaking. He was experiencing a little bit of pain in his arm, but it was nothing wrong. It was okay for the race and at a normal level like Jerez and Portimao.
They started and completed their race. According to him, it was a constant race, with nothing solid, but it was on their pace. He stayed on the pace and finished in the sixth position. He said that their position will be between fifth and seventh position, and when three riders crashed in front of him, he was able to achieve his target.
Again, Marquez became the top Honda rider, notwithstanding over fifteen seconds from the race win. It proves the performance of their bike. However, it was not riding better to extract the best from it. He said that while riding he was not in his sweet moment. He used to ride much better in the past. In the beginning, he was riding differently and strangely, but slowly he is getting used to it.
He also said that he was not riding the way he want. He always tries to force his riding style to what he needs. However, he is not riding at his best level.
But he always becomes the best Honda rider in every race. Thus, although there was performance, he was not riding well.