MotoGP Austria: Marc Marquez: Another weekend working hard for the future

Marc Marquez is set to carry the ‘completely different’ approach at Silverstone into this weekend’s Austrian MotoGP.
Marc Marquez, MotoGP, British MotoGP, 6 August
Marc Marquez, MotoGP, British MotoGP, 6 August

Battered by accidents and injuries during the opening eight round🎶s, Marquez returned from the summer brea𝓀k pledging not to override the struggling RC213V.

“In six races I broke three♚ bones and one ligament. The approach now must be a different,” he had said.

Some doubted t𝄹he eight-time world champion would actually be able to control his all-attack instincts.

But when Marquez ba🐈cked off and began looking behind in the Saturday Sprint race, electing to study team-mate Joan Mir for the final laps on the way to 18th, it was clear he wasn’t bluffing.

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“The approach of this weekend was com🥀pletely different,” Marquez said🎶.

“You saw: I forgot the times, I forgot everything, and I wa🅠s just riding with my feeling. If I don't feel it, like in the Sprint race, I was not pushing

“In warm-up, the feelinඣg was good, so I pushed. But my target was to try to do a weekend without crashes for overriding your 🃏limit.

“[The Sunday race] crash was not from overriding, it was an unluc📖ky situation. But I was not riding over the limits of the bike.

“So it's the correct approach I think to build the base and from that point try♐ to build for th♈e future.”

Honda had also gone back to basics on the technical front, removing the Kalex chassis and returning to a configuration🃏 Marquez and Mir had used at rou𒐪nd one in Portimao.

Instead, the development work was done by LCR’s Takaaki Nakagami, who had a radical new high-do๊wnforce fairing.

It is not clear if Marqu𓆏ez and/or Mir will also homologate the new fairing design for this weekend in Austria, but Marquez indicated his general apprꦇoach will be the same as Silverstone.

“I’ve used the time between races to keep working on my fitness. Every day is a bi𝔍t better, so let’s see what is possible in Austria,” he said 🌠ahead of this weekend.

“The weather t🎃here can be a bit mixed, so we will need t🌜o work well consistently to make the most of the weekend.

“We know that it will be another weekend of working har𒁏d to try and improve and make a step for the future.”

Joan Mir, MotoGP sprint race, British MotoGP, 5 August
Joan Mir, MotoGP sprint race, British MotoGP, 5 August

While Marquez - who missed Termas, COTA and Jerez due to injury, then ༺the Sachsenring and Assen Sunday races - still hasn’t scored points in a Grand Prix this year, new team-mate Mir hasn’t reached the chequered flag since Portꦚimao.

“We come to the Red Bull Ring looking to build off what we did in the previous race,” said the 2020💙 world champion, who has only completed two full grand prix weekends this season.

“Sunday didn’t go to plan, but overall with the weekend we were able to make progress and get back to being comfortable on the bike. This isꩵ the line we need to follow again and really try to maximise the time we have on track.”

Marquez a𝐆nd Mir are currently just 19th and 25th in the world championship standings.

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