Marquez rues front tyre choice
Honda’s Marc Marquez has admitted he went the wrong way with front tyre choice in last night’s 20-lap Qatar Grand Prix, in which he finished seven seconds off the lead in fourth.
A light rain shower just moments before the race was due to get underway saw proceedings delayed by 45 minutes, and this meant track temperatures were lower by the time the lights went out.
Marquez had planned to run the hard front Michelin, a common practice with the Spaniard as it allows him to utilise his aggressive braking style. However, because of the conditions, he was forced to switch to the medium tyre.
Having conducted all of his running on the harder slick throughout practice, running the medium was a huge step into the unknown, and one which he branded as his ‘biggest mistake’ this weekend.
“Our plan was to use the harder front compound, but the chaotic situation with the rain and the continuous delays created many doubts,” he said.
“In the end we decided to go with the medium front, aiming to reduce the risk of crashing, but this turned out to be our biggest mistake of the weekend.”
Marquez ran at the sharp-end for the opening handful of laps, battling hard with Suzuki’s Andrea Iannone and the two factory Yamahas for the lead.
But after just four tours, Marquez began chewing through his medium front, and this gradually made running the pace of the leaders an impossible task. Unable to brake as he’d like, he opted to settle for fourth.
“I struggled with the front the entire time; I couldn’t brake hard and after few laps the tyre was already wearing off,” he added.
“We continued to have some small issues with acceleration, but even so I had a good feeling with my bike. But with that tyre choice, I wasn’t able to gain on braking. That’s my strongest point, so I decided, okay let’s finish this race and Argentina will be another race.”
Team-mate Dani Pedrosa also encountered issues running the medium front tyre, and this stopped him from getting involved in the lead battle. The Spaniard crossed the line fifth, four tenths adrift of Marquez.