Marc Marquez says that he relied on racers in front of him to fall out from the MotoGP French Grand Prix so he could finish 6th on the problematic Honda.
On the drastically altered 2022 Honda, the six-time championship winner appears to battle for form and qualified 10th on the grid.
Marquez believed his speed was just strong enough to fight for the top 7 positions going into the race, and he finished sixth after letting Pramac’s Johann Zarco move ahead on purpose.
Marquez would have placed tenth if not for accidents involving both Suzuki racers and long-time race leader Francesco Bagnaia.
“No, our position without the crashes was ninth. But three riders crashed, but we finished sixth. I was not able to be faster,” Marquez said when questioned by Motorsport.com if he could have had a good race without racers crashing front of him.
“When Zarco overtook me, I just went wide in a purposeful way to not lose time, I let him pass and tried to follow him in some laps. But I saw he was faster. I didn’t have the speed, so I just finished the race.”
Marquez had a significant moment in warm-up when he injured his right arm, which he severely injured in 2020.
This won’t suffer him too several problems during the race, but he admits he wasn’t feeling well on Sunday.
“I got up and I didn’t feel well – body, but also the arm,” he added. “Even like this it was the race day, so you need to race.
“In the warm-up I was struggling, I got into the box, I go out for the practice start and I had that strange shaking. There was pain a little bit [in] the arm, but nothing wrong. For the race, it was OK, was in a normal level like Jerez and Portimao.
“We started and we did our race. Constant, solid race. Nothing crazy, but [that] was our pace.
“So, I stayed in my pace and I finished sixth. I said our position was between fifth and seventh, three riders crashed in front, then we achieved our target that was between fifth and seventh.”
Marquez was the fastest Honda racer once again, despite over 15 seconds behind the winner, which he claims confirms the bike’s power – but that he isn’t riding it well enough to get the most out of it.
“Riding, I’m not in my sweet moment,” he said. “I was riding much better in the past. I am riding in a different way, in a strange way in the beginning but I am getting used to it.
“It’s true that I’m not riding like I want. I always try to force my riding style to what I need.
“But it’s true I’m not riding in my best level, but every race I am the best Honda. So, it means the performance is there but I’m not riding well.”
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