Marquez puts the brakes on the Ducati team: "We need to stay calm"

Marc Marquez returned to the track at Silverstone for the second half of the MotoGP season. On the first day of pre-qualifying he finished with the sixth fastest time, but he is still not at his physical best. On a circuit traditionally favorable to Aprilia, the Cervera champion needs the best setup to try to mount an assault on the podium.

As expected, the Noale manufacturer played the leading role on the first day of MotoGP on British soil. Marquez managed to gain direct access to Q2, while his garage mate, Pecco Bagnaia, will have to go through Q1. Is there still room for improvement ahead of qualifying and the Sprint? "I tried to manage things as best as possible, looking for a good setup without taking too many risks. But when you try to set a fast lap you take risks because I wasn’t sure I’d make it into Q2 since the times were so close. We finished the best we could."

Marco Bezzecchi is the man to beat this weekend, author of a stunning lap that wiped out the previous lap record by a second. "He was incredibly fast and once again set the pace all weekend, so we’ll see on Saturday and Sunday where we are and how much he’ll pull away from us in the end."

For Marc Marquez, a defensive race is expected, where it will be important to collect valuable points for the MotoGP overall standings. Together with the Ducati team he will study the best strategy to get the most out of it. "When we arrive at a difficult circuit, I’m the one who asks the team to stay calm," explained the nine-time world champion to 'AS'. "They try to help and offer suggestions with the best intentions. But sometimes the bike isn’t the problem; it’s the rider who isn’t at 100%, or the riding style that isn’t the right one. Some circuits have been a bit more demanding than others, so I ask them not to overthink it and to try to find the right consistency."

After the summer break it’s natural to ask for updates on the condition of his right shoulder. Over the past three weeks he has carried out training and physiotherapy as advised by experts, even though the ideal condition is still a long way off. "I understand my situation. I have to adapt my riding style to my body’s needs... I can be a bit more aggressive, and that helps me. I notice I have the same weak point as before, but at least it seems that in certain parts of the circuit I can be a bit more aggressive and with more control than before. That doesn’t mean I can go faster, but at least I have a bit more confidence. But as I said yesterday, that’s how it is, with a shoulder that works differently, and I’ll try to reach 100%."

In the previous German Grand Prix Marc Marquez clinched his third win of this MotoGP World Championship. But the Sachsenring was a very different story... "In Germany, the bike didn’t move and I was very fast. Here, instead, I’m not as fast and the bike moves around a lot more. So we’ll try to find the point where we can be aggressive without losing corner speed."

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