Marc Marquez’s Struggles at Silverstone: Chasing a Tow and a Solution

Marc Marquez says he “got lost” – reveals why he pursued Jorge Martin’s slipstream

Initially, Marc Marquez wasn’t aiming to follow Jorge Martin at Silverstone

The first day of the British MotoGP featured three Ducati bikes in the top four spots, but Marc Marquez was not among them, nor were any of the bikes the latest GP23 models.

By the end of the day, Fabio di Giannantonio secured the highest position among the GP23 riders, finishing in sixth place. Meanwhile, Marquez ended up in tenth place, trailing behind Marco Bezzecchi, who finished in ninth.

Results of Friday Practice for the 2024 British MotoGP at Silverstone

Marquez described reaching Q2 as "the sole positive aspect of today," highlighting the extent of his difficulties at Silverstone.

He expressed to the media, including Crash.net, at Silverstone that today had been a bad day and he was not pleased.

"The sole consolation is our position in the top 10. Other than that, the experience was dreadful. I need to improve personally, and we need to figure out how to enhance the bike's performance and particularly improve our lap times."

The issues for the #93 rider started right from the initial practice session, FP1. He mentioned, "From the very first lap of FP1, we encountered problems — the riding, the connection with the bike, everything was extremely challenging to grasp."

Detailing the challenges he faced, Marquez mentioned, "Entering the corners is typically one of my strengths, but at the moment, I'm having difficulties with that."

Moreover, Marquez mentioned that he was having difficulty with rear traction. He noted that this is typically a strength for him with Ducati, but it hasn't been the case at Silverstone.

He looked for answers within himself and in the bicycle.

"I focused on self-improvement," Marquez mentioned, noting that "the technicians adjusted the setup, and we made a bit of progress in the afternoon. However, we still have a long way to go."

Marquez discloses initial goal for drafting

At the close of the first day at Silverstone, Marquez trailed Jorge Martin by 0.674 seconds. He attempted to keep up with Martin during his afternoon time attack session.

"Today marked the inaugural opportunity of the 2024 season to trail another rider," noted Marquez. At the beginning of the season, he mentioned that riding the Ducati allowed him to perform time attack laps independently, unlike his recent years with Honda where he needed another rider ahead of him to secure a competitive lap time.

"Today, I felt disoriented. On other tracks, I usually have a sense of confidence, thinking 'I’m in good shape, I can manage a fast lap,' and I tend to perform better on my own. However, today was different—I felt completely lost."

“I left the pits trailing Aleix Espargaro, but he wasn’t pushing hard, so I decided not to either. Then Jorge Martin came along, and that’s when I decided to follow him instead. Originally, though, I intended to stick with Aleix.”

Gazing ahead, Marquez cautioned, “This won’t be the final track where I’ll face difficulties.”

As championship leader Francesco Bagnaia (clocking the third-quickest time on Friday at Silverstone) and second-place contender Jorge Martin (topping the timesheets overall) continue their impressive performances from before the summer hiatus, these difficulties highlight Marquez as the title hopeful facing the toughest path to victory, particularly given his current 56-point gap behind Bagnaia.

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