MotoGP Le Mans: Marc Marquez says debut on Kalex chassis was ‘small help’ but 'not the solution’ in bid for improvement
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Updated 15/05/2023 at 15:25 GMT
Marc Marquez’s debut on the Kalex chassis at the Moto GP in Le Mans was “a small help” but the Spaniard does not think it will be the long-term solution. Marquez failed to finish Sunday’s race after falling as Jorge Martin overtook him on the penultimate lap, but he took confidence in the late switch to the Kalex chassis. Marquez was making his return from injury.
Crashes and red flag bring Moto 2 to an early close
Marc Marquez says his debut on the Kalex chassis at the Moto GP in Le Mans was “a small help” but “not the solution”.
The Spaniard failed to finish on his return to action in Sunday’s race after taking an early lead, and before that had qualified second, and finished a close fifth in Saturday’s Sprint.
In second place behind Marco Bezzecchi, Marquez fell on the penultimate lap in Sunday’s race as Ducati rider and sprint winner Jorge Martin overtook him.
Marquez was undoubtedly frustrated to miss out on the rostrum and later gave his thoughts on Saturday morning’s switch to the German frame in Honda’s bid for improvement.
“Of course the chassis is a small difference, and it's a small help. But it's not the solution,” Marquez revealed. “[Joan] Mir was using the chassis, and Mir is a world champion, and you saw he was struggling, he was in the back, and he crashed again.
“So we need to change something for the future, to be more competitive, to be more safe, because every year, the Honda riders are in the top ranking of crashes. It's not only me. Mir crashed four or five times in Jerez, now here again three times. So we need to keep working with the team to improve.
“But you know me, and you know my style... If somebody overtakes me, I will come back. I'm a fighter. But then you are on the limit.
“I crashed in turn seven, but the crash started in turn six because I had a massive shake in turn six because the bike was shaking a lot there in all accelerations.
“We don't need to analyse, we need to improve that, because it's the main problem we have always. So the reason why I crashed started in turn seven.”
Le Mans was Marquez’s first race since injury in the Portimao season-opener, and he explained why he had been competitive.
“Here is a bit better because in the two main accelerations, it's one of my strong points of the riding style,” he said. “I was doing a massive pickup, and I control really well the gas, and for that reason, we were not losing a lot.
“But in sector two, for example, where you are depending a lot on the grip of your bike, was losing a lot.
“Of course, I'm asking for new items, and asking to improve the weak points, but it's not in my hands.
“What I will do is to work hard these next three weeks to be in good [physical] shape for Mugello.”
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