Ducati, Marc Marquez: “I decided not to attack.” He’ll be crowned champion in Portugal if…

Marc Marquez is very pleased with his second-place finish in Qatar, which effectively seals his tenth world title. Rider No. 93 was unusually reserved at the start, a deliberate choice: “I was really confident about how to approach the race; I tried to manage it and ride as intelligently as possible. The strategy was to hold off on attacking in the early stages—we did the same thing last year with Morbidelli, and then we caught up to him.”

“I wanted to race against Jorge Martin. Today, Bezzecchi and Fernandez were fast, and in the early laps, there was a risk of wearing out the tires too much. So I waited because I knew I’d have another 15 laps to make it to the podium. Behind me was a group of four; I could finish fourth but not seventh, so I made an extra push to break away from the group. When I saw that Raul was struggling, I passed him.”

“I would have settled for 32 points here in Qatar; it was important not to give the two Aprilias too much momentum. We’re right here. Ducati is doing a great job, and they’re helping me with everything.”

Marc Marquez will be world champion at Portimao if he manages to gain at least 2 points on Martin: by winning the Sprint Race, he would already be mathematically crowned champion. And he could still clinch the title on Saturday if he finishes second and Martin third, or third with Martin in fifth place.