Marc Marquez, as if that weren’t enough: here’s why he didn’t shine in Austria

The reigning MotoGP champion says he had an issue during the race at the Red Bull Ring: his final result could have been better.

For the first time, no Ducati on the podium in the Austrian Grand Prix, but Marc Marquez’s fifth place in the race is no disaster. After finishing second in the Sprint, the Spaniard seemed to have the potential to fight for the podium again, but a technical problem with his Desmosedici GP26 prevented him from challenging the Aprilia riders who finished ahead of him at the line.

On lap nine he got past Ai Ogura to take fourth and then closed in on Marco Bezzecchi, but at the start of lap 10 he ran wide at Turn 1 and lost three positions. It wasn’t a simple mistake by the reigning MotoGP champion—there was more behind that episode.

Marquez had the chance to explain what problem held him back today at the Red Bull Ring: "It’s true that this weekend we struggled a bit more compared to Misano and Aragon, but I was fast and had the right pace. Unfortunately, from the first lap I saw that something had happened with the front brake: on every braking, the lever was in a different position and I was making mistakes without actually making a mistake. I had a moment of real difficulty, then I recovered, the brake lever settled a bit and I got my confidence back. Finishing fifth, after everything that happened, is the maximum."

The Ducati Lenovo Team rider believes his potential in Austria wasn’t bad at all; a podium wasn’t out of reach: "I wasn’t the fastest to win the race, but I had the pace to fight for the podium, to be there with Martin and Bezzecchi. You saw what happened at Turn 1, I almost went into the wall. I braked at the same point as always, but the brake was zero and I went off. I was very lucky, because two laps after that run-off I recovered, the lever was much more stable and that allowed me to finish in fifth. I had a pace similar to the leaders when the brake started working well."

Obviously, Marc can’t be thrilled with fifth place, but at the same time he has nothing to blame himself for and remains clear-headed about the MotoGP world title fight: "No panic, we’re 12 points behind the leader. There are seven races left and the top four in the standings are fighting for the championship."

Marquez arrived at Spielberg level on points with Jorge Martin and leaves 12 down. The next Grand Prix will be in Japan, at Motegi, where he was crowned world champion in 2025. It’s impossible today to predict how the weekend will go at the Honda-owned track, but Ducati’s number 93 hopes he won’t have to deal with technical issues like the one that affected him at the Red Bull Ring again.

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