Marquez’s Stoic Fourth Amidst Qualifying Woes: Emilia Romagna MotoGP Chronicles

Marc Marquez believes his result would have been the same, saying, "Even with a front row start, I'd have ended up fourth."

"Our weekend was ruined by the qualifying crash," Marc Marquez lamented two weeks ago, following his climb from ninth to fifth position in the San Marino Sprint race.

Marquez seized the opportunity presented by a rain shower on Sunday to secure an unexpected second victory in the Ducati MotoGP.

Heading back to Misano for this weekend's Emilia Romagna event, history took a similar turn as Marquez once more suffered a crash during the qualifying round, resulting in a seventh-place start from the third row.

"Marquez expressed that he isn't entirely at ease with the [new] tyres and stressed the importance of continuous improvement to narrow the gap with Pecco and Martin."

The Spanish rider secured a fourth-place finish in the afternoon Sprint. However, this instance, Marquez's grid position wasn't the problem.

Marquez climbed to fourth place by the conclusion of the first lap out of thirteen, thanks to a quick move and overtaking Brad Binder.

Despite setting a pace that would have won the last San Marino Sprint, Marquez couldn't catch up with the three leading GP24s.

Marquez ultimately fell 5.386 seconds behind the victorious Francesco Bagnaia and had to resist the challenge from Pedro Acosta's KTM.

"Marquez admitted that even if we had begun at the front of the grid today, our position at the finish would have still been fourth."

"The leading trio possesses an extra edge, as evidenced today. Initially, I secured fourth position in the opening lap, yet their pace surpassed ours."

Most competitors are anticipated to shift from the soft to the medium rear tire again for Sunday's complete grand prix, yet Marquez doesn't foresee any significant changes in the standings.

"He mentioned that aiming for fourth place is also their target for the following day."

Alex Marquez, who is also the brother and teammate, was the sole competitor to opt for the medium rear tire in the Sprint, following a setback that left him in 21st position on the grid after a crash.

"After experiencing these accidents, it's challenging to maintain the same level of assurance, yet excelling in the sprint race and collecting valuable information for tomorrow was crucial," he remarked upon finishing 14th.

"Beginning from the back, we managed to gain several spots during the race by opting for a medium rear tyre, aiming to improve our performance for the race."

"I remain uncertain about my decision for tomorrow, yet it's evident we now possess more information to make a more distinct comparison between the soft and medium alternatives."

Aggregate sprint race durations for Emilia Romagna/San Marino (13 laps):

In the Emilia Romagna event, Francesco Bagnaia led the pack with a time of 19 minutes and 50.237 seconds, closely followed by Jorge Martin at 19 minutes and 50.522 seconds, with Enea Bastianini rounding out the top three with a time of 19 minutes and 51.556 seconds. Marc Marquez secured the fourth spot with a time of 19 minutes and 55.623 seconds.

In a separate race at San Marino, Jorge Martin clocked in at 19 minutes and 56.502 seconds, placing him fifth. Pedro Acosta achieved a time of 19 minutes and 56.817 seconds in Emilia Romagna, making him sixth, while Francesco Bagnaia recorded a time of 19 minutes and 57.997 seconds in San Marino for the seventh position.

Franco Morbidelli posted times in both locations, with a 19 minute and 58.334-second finish in San Marino for eighth place and a 19 minute and 59.508-second finish in Emilia Romagna for the thirteenth spot. Brad Binder, Enea Bastianini, and Fabio Quartararo also showcased significant performances across the two venues, with Binder achieving a ninth place in Emilia Romagna and a nineteenth in San Marino.

Other notable mentions include Marco Bezzecchi, Maverick Viñales, and Miguel Oliveira who all competed fiercely in Emilia Romagna, while Aleix Espargaro, Alex Marquez, and Jack Miller showed substantial efforts in both locations.

Towards the bottom end of the rankings, Luca Marini, Johann Zarco, and Raul Fernandez displayed commendable efforts in Emilia Romagna, whereas the latter stages of the San Marino event saw competitive times from riders such as Augusto Fernandez, Joan Mir, and Pol Espargaro, amongst others. Takaaki Nakagami straddled both events, finishing with a time of 20 minutes and 21.656 seconds in San Marino.

*Penalty of 8 seconds added after the race.

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