Alex Márquez completed the best weekend of the season at the Portuguese Grand Prix, managing to take the seventh final position and entering the finish line very close to the rear wheel of his brother Marc, the first Honda on the track, which could only overcome in the end.
The one from LCR started seventh on the grid, his best classification of the year, and in the early stages of the race he managed to gain positions, until he was overtaken by Aleix Espargaró, who once again had it out with the one from Cervera, and Alex Rins.
In the final part, Marc Márquez, who came from behind, had a nice battle with Alex, who managed to give him back the overtaking once, but not the final one, although he tried until the end.
Asked by Motorsport.com what he was missing to overtake Marc, Alex was very clear: “I’m 50 meters short!” he exclaimed.
“It was a race from plus to minus, but I have a bit of a bad taste in my mouth because I had a good start and I was able to fight with the other riders when we were in equal conditions. Then we have already started to suffer a lot and when everyone has already tightened the thing has gotten worse.”.
“I tried not to lose concentration and in the end Marc [Márquez] caught me, who came from behind with something else, not much, but something else. It was fun,” he admitted.
“Fighting for sixth position 10 seconds from the head is neither what Marc wants nor what I want, but it was fun. I was hoping I could pass him at the finish line, because I always do the last corner a little better than him, but I missed those 20 thousandths”.
Alex already achieved his best result of the course last year on this circuit, a fourth place, so the track surely accompanied the performance.
“I think the circuit accompanies it and the conditions too. When the conditions are dry and it gets really tight, that’s when we start to suffer, until then the bike accepts everything we ask of it, both in wet conditions and in mixed conditions”.
But it’s still missing, it’s the same bike from the beginning of the season and we have to try something in the Jerez test to see the direction to follow, because if not on many circuits, especially where you have to turn a lot with medium and high speed, we are going to suffer a lot”.
Finally, we also asked him about the battle with Aleix Espargaró, who once again complained about the defense that LCR made of his position, a strike that comes from afar, as if there was something pending.
“No, no. I’ve known him since I was very little, he was much older but then he was young, many years ago. I defended my position and he defended his, which came with more rhythm, and I congratulate him because he has done a very good podium for him”.
“In the end they are a career, they have taught me that way, to defend my position and my team, and I have done so,” said the boy from Cervera, who did not want to comment on his future at the contractual level with Honda. “I’m not in a position to think about my future, I’m just focused on working to try to help turn the current situation around.”
