Marc Marquez Admits Fear of Bastianini While Critiquing ‘Boring’ Japanese MotoGP

Marc Marquez expresses fear of Enea Bastianini while voicing concerns about Japanese MotoGP

Marc Marquez comments on the Motegi Grand Prix

Marc Marquez admitted that he felt "frightened" by Enea Bastianini's challenge for his podium spot during the MotoGP Japanese Grand Prix, a race he found to be "dull".

The Gresini racer started in ninth position on the grid and quickly moved up to be among the top six during the first lap. He then moved into third place after Pedro Acosta, who was in second, crashed out on the third lap of the 24-lap race.

When Bastianini managed to advance to fourth position on the 10th lap, Marquez had already established a lead of 2.5 seconds over the official Ducati competitor. However, as the race progressed, this lead began to diminish.

On lap 14, Marquez made an error at Turn 1, increasing the pressure from Bastianini. However, Marquez managed to keep Bastianini at bay by slightly more than half a second, ensuring he claimed the last spot on the podium.

"The race lacked excitement but was strategic in nature, particularly since while I was in third position, Jorge Martin and Francesco Bagnaia had already created some distance ahead," Marquez remarked.

"I was attempting to close the gap, but when I pushed harder on the brakes, I made an error at Turn 1."

"At that point, I decided to stop pushing and focus on managing Bastianini, as he was performing excellently and I was somewhat worried about how he would handle the final laps."

"We often expect impressive lap times from him, but we manage the situation effectively."

"In my opinion, our lap times were the quickest compared to the others."

"I was making an effort and taking great care with everything. I was pushing the front tire hard because the back one was worn out. Then, I decided to take a chance with the front and thought, 'Alright, I'll give it a shot.'"

"I noticed that he was closing the distance, which made me somewhat nervous. Things weren't completely in hand, but I was feeling really confident."

As the Japan weekend approached, Marquez identified qualifying as the aspect he most needed to enhance, following three consecutive crashes during Q2 sessions between the San Marino and Indonesian Grand Prix events.

At Motegi, it seemed like he addressed the issue by securing provisional pole position on Saturday. However, his lap was later invalidated because he went beyond the track boundaries.

"Absolutely, beginning at the front changes everything," he responded when questioned about whether starting in a more advanced position might have allowed him to contend for the win.

"Starting from ninth position, we had a decent first lap, albeit not flawless. At Turn 10, Jorge passed me, causing a slight delay in acceleration. Subsequently, [Jack] Miller got ahead of us at Turn 11, resulting in a loss of time."

"Alright, here's the situation: our main focus needs to be enhancing our performance in qualifying, which I've mentioned in the recent races."

"We seemed capable of achieving that in this race, but unfortunately, luck was not on our side. We'll focus on the next race."

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