Marquez arrives at Phillip Island ‘with no pressure’
Repsol Honda Team’s Marc Marquez heads to this weekend’s Australian Grand Prix from the iconic Phillip Island Circuit free of pressure after sensationally securing the 2016 world championship last week in Japan.
The Spaniard was quick to rubbish any talk that he could win the title in Japan, the permutations requiring him to win at a track he hadn’t done so in the premier class and for the Yamaha duo to suffer a nightmare afternoon. As it turned out, this is exactly what happened during the 24-lap Japanese Grand Prix.
With the title now secure, Marquez is free to end the season pushing at his maximum for wins, especially as Honda are still fighting for the Teams’ and Constructors’ crowns in these final three races with Yamaha.
Phillip Island has been a track that Marquez’ has had a mixed relationship with. He won the 125cc race in Australia in 2010 and took two podium finishes in the Moto2 class. But it wasn’t until last year, in that astonishing 27-lap contest, that the Spaniard actually scored a point at Phillip Island in the MotoGP class when he won.
Marquez comes into this round wary of the typically unpredictable Australian weather at the Island, which tends to be cold and windy. Rain is also forecast for this weekend, just to complicate things even further. But, this is a track that Marquez says is one of his favourites and one he is always quick at, even if results have been up and down over the years.
“It’s fantastic to arrive at Phillip Island with no pressure for the Championship, as the track is one of my favourite in the calendar, along with Austin and Aragon. It’s so fast and flowing and you really have a lot of fun riding there,” said Marquez.
“One of the main issues to take into account there is the weather. It’s usually very cold during this period of the year and always windy, something that you feel a lot, especially at the end of the final straight. You have to find a setup to make the bike as stable as possible. We’ll try to win some more races before the end of the year as there are also the Constructors and the Team titles to think of.”