Ducati, Marco Melandri drastic on Marc Marquez

Former Ducati rider Marco Melandri spoke on the “Chiacchiere da Box” podcast to comment on Marc Marquez and Ducati’s difficult start to the World Championship: the Catalan rider crashed out at the start of the Spanish Grand Prix and is now 44 points behind race leader Marco Bezzecchi.

Melandri puts his finger on Marc Marquez’s motivations, which remain the same as they always have been: “Marc has already won everything and built an extraordinary legacy. He may not feel real pressure, but the desire to keep winning is definitely still very strong inside him.” Rather, according to the former Ducatista, Marquez has to deal with his physique, which is now in a waning phase: “From a physical point of view, I would say that Márquez is more or less at this level. I don’t think he’s going to improve any further: after three weeks of stop he hasn’t made any progress compared to the previous races, so I think this is now his current limit. He will simply have to live with it and adapt.”

According to Macio, Marquez will have to deal with it in the next races as well: “There will be difficult circuits, where the physical will be put to the test. At Le Mans you brake a lot and load a lot on the right side, at Mugello there are constant changes of direction that are not easy to manage, and Assen is physically very demanding.”

“Some tracks will not be as easy as it seems. Either Ducati will be able to find that little extra margin that allows them to ride with less effort, or they will continue to have to push hard on every lap, and in the long run this risks turning into a real pain.”