Marquez: Qatar MotoGP track no longer a 'nightmare' on Ducati

The six-time MotoGP world champion made his Ducati race debut on Saturday in Qatar in the first sprint of the year, finishing fifth after qualifying sixth for Gresini Racing.

Marquez was a factor in the podium battle before a late mistake cut him adrift, but he still said he achieved the goal he set out for himself ahead of the season.

The Qatar GP sprint result hasn’t altered his feeling that his decision to quit Honda was correct, which he was already “fully convinced” by, and notes that his current form makes things “less stressful” for him.

“For me, it’s the correct decision until the end,” he said when asked if his Qatar sprint result validated his decision for him.

“When I took the decision I was fully convinced and I’m [still] convinced. And what I said on Thursday, my target is to try to fight in those top six positions.

“Why? Because when you are fighting there you feel competitive. You can win or not; to be world champion you need to be precise in many aspects.

“But at least if you are fighting in that top five position, top six position, you feel competitive and the weekends are shorter. Shorter and easier and even less stressful.

“This is something that here in Qatar, which was one of the nightmares of the previous years, this year I’m enjoying, I was able to be in QP2 alone, then the first time attack I was completely [on track] and I was in those top four positions. So, this is something that I really like.”

Marc Marquez, Gresini Racing

Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images

When asked how it felt to race a Ducati compared to the Honda, he added: “Easier. You overtake on the straight and then it’s easier. Especially you arrive into the brake points a bit closer.

“So, yeah, I was able to overtake two, three riders today and I was able to be in that fight.

“But of course you need the speed. Speed means lap time, and still in that point I need two, three tenths that for example [Jorge] Martin, [Francesco] Bagnaia, Aleix [Espargaro] [had].”

Marquez spoke on Friday about how he was still finding his Honda instincts taking over, and that was the case again in qualifying on Saturday, but was able to control this better in the sprint.

“Yeah, [it] affected [me] a little bit in the qualifying practice,” he said about riding the Ducati like a Honda.

“In the last sector I ride by instinct because I saw I was coming super-fast and I lost a few tenths because I exaggerated too much in one corner I did Honda-style. And it’s not possible [to do this on a Ducati].

“And in the race, I was able to control more myself. It’s true that I did a mistake where I predicted I could do a mistake, which was the first lap when you don’t have the confidence with the bike and you are with other riders, then you cannot attack like you want.

“We went into a strange fight with [Fabio] Di Giannantonio with many overtakes in the first lap, and we lost time. But when I overtook him, I started to go in front and I felt ok.”