Gresini’s Marc Marquez says he is no longer two or three steps behind MotoGP title contenders Francesco Bagnaia and Jorge Martin after displaying strong pace in Friday practice for the Austrian GP.
On the short 10-corner Spielberg circuit, Marquez posted a time of 1m28.858s on his Ducati GP23 bike in second practice to finish fourth-fastest, trailing pacesetter Bagnaia by just 0.350s.
More impressively, he lapped within half a tenth of Pramac duo Franco Morbidelli and Martin, who were second and third respectively at the end of the hour-long session.
It was a massive departure from the form he has shown in recent rounds, where he started on the back foot on Friday before gradually finding more pace to be competitive on race day.
Having finally managed to be on the pace immediately at the start of the race weekend, as he had prioritised after the British Grand Prix, Marquez feels he has now significantly closed the gap to MotoGP’s frontrunners in Austria.
“I was struggling a lot on the race pace and did mistakes [in FP1], because we had a similar problem to Austin with the brakes, but then the team with experience of Austin did a step in the afternoon and the feeling was much better,” he explained.
“Also, they gave me some tips on the riding style and then I was able to attack and that makes me a bit more constant on the race pace.
“I felt good. The feeling with the bike was much better than the last races. In fact, in the last races I felt we were two, even three steps behind the top guys and in this race at the moment we are one step behind the top guys. So this is already a good sign.”
Despite scoring four grands prix podiums so far in 2024, including three in a row between Jerez and Barcelona, Marquez has yet to stand on the top step of the podium with Ducati.
While admitting that this was one of the best Fridays he has enjoyed so far, the six-time champion still feels he is not in the same group as Bagnaia and Martin at Spielberg.
Asked if he believes he has a shot at winning the Austrian GP, a race he never won during his time at Honda, the Spaniard said: “No. I will like to say yes but unfortunately [not].
“It's true that we are closer and I feel like one step behind Bagnaia and Martin, who are the top guys.
“Then we are the second group with Morbidelli, Bastianini and me. So let's see if tomorrow I can work with the small details and be a bit more constant.”
While Ducati has generally gone around well in Austria, with seven of its eight runners finishing inside the top 10, Marquez also believes tyres are playing a role in his improved form at the circuit.
Spielberg is one of the three tracks where Michelin is bringing a different profile of tyres, providing relief to those riders that haven’t fully gelled with its standard 2024 rubber.
“For me with this tyre, I feel more natural,” he said. “With the new rear tyre they brought this year [for the majority of the season but not Spielberg], the new technology, I don't feel it in a natural way from the edge to the traction.
“I feel like [it’s] changing a lot the grip between one and [the other tyre type], it's like two different tyres. But with this one it's much more natural, and for me the movement of the bike is more predictable.”
