Marc Marquez put in one of the rides of his season in Jerez last weekend to narrowly just miss out on the podium. The Repsol Honda star went wheel-to-wheel in a thrilling battle with Jack Miller (Ducati Lenovo Team) and Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing), with the latter pouncing late on to seal his third rostrum of the year.
The eight-time Champion once again looked like the rider we have grown accustomed to seeing over the years, and his Team Manager Alberto Puig reflected on the Red Bull Spanish Grand Prix in a Q&A with Box Repsol.
In general, how would you define the weekend and the race?
"It wasn't a bad race. I think Marc did a good job. It wasn't an easy weekend, we struggled a bit, but Marc got a good result with an exciting race. This is encouraging after his feeling was not so good in Portimao. He handled the situation well throughout the race, had a good battle with the riders around him and saved a crash; he hadn't done that for a long time."
Marquez scored 13 important points, is it a small step on his way to the Championship or is he thinking race by race and working to regain the feeling with himself and the RC213V?
"We are working to fix the points on the bike that are still not working, and this process is ongoing. We had an important test that will allow us to understand the new bike better because, of course, Marc's objective is not to finish fourth or sixth, his objective, and also that of the Repsol Honda team, is to win races and titles. This is the only objective.
How was the save from inside the box?
"It's scary! It's not nice to experience. But in the end, if there's no crash, it's spectacular to watch.
What are the positives and negatives of Jerez?
"The positive is that Marc was again fighting for the top positions. Pol Espargaro made a good start, but he couldn't get a good position in the first laps, so in the end, it wasn't so easy. He had the speed this weekend, but unfortunately, we couldn't find a good set-up and it wasn't possible to get a good result.