Marc Marquez expected it to take longer before the first crash after the return. But in FP3 in Aragon it was already there.
Marc Marquez came to MotoGP practice at Motorland Aragon quite calmly, but he soon got racing fever again; Crew chief Santi Hernandez could hardly wait for his disciple to return. Because only the 59-time MotoGP winner can cover the obvious weaknesses of the Honda RC213V with his willingness to take risks. As a result, he lost just 0.319 to Pramac-Ducati’s George Martin in a best time in FP2.
Marquez experienced two moments of shock in FP2 on Friday and then said: “At some point I will fall again, it is part of the occupational hazard.” The Honda Star fought hard for a straight entry into qualifying 2 in FP3 this morning, finishing in the top ten from the overall standings from FP1, FP2 and FP3. In Q1, the two fastest drivers climb up again.
Marc Márquez saved himself from a crash in FP3 with a spectacular save at Turn 17, but the first crash occurred at Turn 7 after returning from his fourth humerus surgery after a front wheel slide. So not much was left of the planned sober approach. On Thursday, the Aragon GP was still referred to as “training”, also by crew chief Santi Hernandez.
Meanwhile, the old “all or nothing” motto has clearly come to the fore again. The current Honda RC213V is not suitable for top 6 results only, usually not even top 10.
So Marc Marquez is now only 12th from FP4 and qualifying.
Mark had already noticed on Friday that he needed more time to warm up his muscles in the morning than in the afternoon.
“I don’t know how my body will react to stress on Saturday and Sunday. Since I don’t do any long runs, I don’t know how I’m going to handle the 23-lap race,” says Mark. “But one thing is clear: if you take it easy in today’s MotoGP, you will be last. Because the time is so close. It’s hard to get into the top ten even if I’m pushing. So I ride as usual.” I push and try to find my limits. So it was clear to me: sooner or later the first crash would happen. I would have preferred later… but I have to accept it.”
“I still need to build and strengthen my muscles, but my bones are recovering,” said the 29-year-old Spaniard. «I know I will be at a loss in the race. But with adrenaline in your blood, it’s easy to overdo it. If I reduce my speed a little I will suffer less damage. If I see in a race that I’m not strong enough, I’ll slack off. I did this in my last races at Le Mans and Mugello. I will do the same here. Then we’ll see if the recovery goes in a positive direction for the final race of the season and if I can ride at my 100 percent level from start to finish.”
MotoGP combined times after FP3, Aragon (September 17):
1. Miller, Ducati, 1:46,992 min
2. Bagania, Ducati, +0.030 sec
3. Bezzecchi, Ducati, +0.056
4. Bastianini, Ducati, +0.065
5. Martin, Ducati, +0.090
6. Brad Binder, KTM, +0.175
7. Oliveira, KTM, +0.232
8. Quartaro, Yamaha, +0.266
9. Nakagami, Honda, +0.274
10. Rins, Suzuki, + 0,280
11. Alex Espargaro, Aprilia, +0.329
12. Marc Marquez, Honda, +0.437
13. Marini, Ducati, +0.445
14. Di Giantonio, Ducati, +0.463
15. Zarco, Ducati, +0.486
16. Alex Marquez, Honda, +0.630
17. Vinales, Aprilia, +0.686
18. Gardner, KTM, +0726
19. Mir, Suzuki, +0771
20. Morbidelli, Yamaha, +0.820
21. Crutchlow, Yamaha, +0.961
22. Pol Espargaro, Honda, +0.989
23. Darrin Binder, Yamaha, +1,211
24. Fernandez, KTM, +1,650
