Marc Marquez: Qualifying Crash Thwarts Misano Comeback as Ducati Rivalry Heats Up

Marc Marquez expressed that their weekend was ruined due to a crash during qualifying. He noted that the lap in question could have secured him a spot on the second row, but starting from ninth place makes it extremely challenging to overtake on this track.

Data indicates that no competitor has ever secured a victory in a Misano MotoGP race starting from a position lower than eighth on the grid.

Dani Pedrosa achieved this feat in 2016, and Marc Marquez's 2021 victory from seventh place is considered the second-best comeback.

Marquez finally clinched a MotoGP victory again during last weekend's Aragon round, marking his first win riding a Ducati.

Coming to the Italian circuit energized by his recent victory, Marquez immediately became a strong contender, finishing second to Francesco Bagnaia in Friday's practice session.

However, an expensive accident during his final qualifying attempt on Saturday morning resulted in him starting from the ninth position on the grid.

Struggling to gain positions on the infamously difficult circuit during the afternoon Sprint race, the Gresini rider slowly advanced to secure fifth place, overtaking Pedro Acosta on the last lap.

To Marquez's frustration, the eight-time world champion matched the mid-1m 31s lap times of front-runners Jorge Martin and Francesco Bagnaia whenever he wasn't held up by other riders.

"We're pleased with our starting position, but the qualifying crash ruined our weekend," remarked Marquez.

"Due to that error, we were unable to complete the lap, which would have positioned us in the second row."

"However, beginning in ninth place makes it extremely challenging to pass other cars on this track."

"I managed to execute some impressive overtakes, and we achieved the best possible result, particularly since the GP24s pulled ahead."

"Hopefully, we can get off to a strong start and compete with them in tomorrow's longer race."

Enea Bastianini secured fourth place, which means Marquez has now matched the factory Ducati rider's points total, placing them both in a tie for third in the world championship standings.

Alex Marquez, who is both a brother and team-mate, made a strong impression by topping Qualifying 1 and started the race in seventh place, ahead of the #93. However, he lost positions on the first lap.

Alex commented that although the race was challenging, Saturday turned out to be favorable as they managed to improve their weekend performance by making it into Q2 and securing a strong qualifying position. He ultimately finished in tenth place.

“I had some errors early in the race, but our speed is decent and I believe we can compete for a top ten finish tomorrow.”

On Saturday, every racer opted for the soft rear tyre, but the medium rear tyre will be used in the longer race.

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