Marquez surrounded by Yamahas but focused on championship

Marc Marquez says second on the grid for the Catalunya MotoGP is a good result and opportunity for his championship challenge as he once more got the better of his key title rivals in Spain.

Though it hasn’t been the cleanest weekend for the Repsol Honda rider on home soil this weekend, with more than one fast lap being ruined by front-end slips – including his final effort as he challenged Fabio Quartararo for pole – he was content to be well ahead of Andrea Dovizioso in fifth and Alex Rins in eighth.

Surrounded by Yamahas in first, third, fourth and sixth (following a penalty for Maverick Vinales) Marquez appears to be more focused on winning the ‘war’ over his aforementioned championship rivals rather than worrying about a potential ‘battle’ with the Yamaha quartet on Sunday.

“We work in a different way and be consistent, then in qualifying we showed potential. I think we did a good lap, we were ready to fight for the pole, but we missed out. For tomorrow, I think we are in good shape, which is the most important thing. Looks like Yamaha riders are riding well, but we are there and that is important for the championship

“It looks like the rhythm of the riders is lose and there are 3 or 4 riders with a similar pace, but anyway I feel better than Mugello. This is important, I feel I can manage in a different way and be more consistent. Then we will see the final result but the target is to finish ahead of the opponents for the championship – the Ducatis and Rins – and if some Yamaha riders are faster than us then we will try to survive.”

Often seen using the Yamahas as a reference point this weekend, Marquez confirms the M1’s traction and grip advantage proving makes it tough to beat over a single lap around the technical Circuit de Catalunya

“I followed him [Valentino Rossi] in FP2, he had a new tyre and I was with the used, but basically it is always the same. The Yamaha carries the speed in a very good way, and here in the circuit you need to carry the speed, they have good traction.

“It looks like for the conditions of the weekend they expect Ducati versus Honda but it is opposite, the bikes that are working better are the Suzuki and the Yamaha, which have less torque and power. It’s interesting to understand.”