Marc Marquez eyes French MotoGP victory but title talk ignored. formula 1 news

Marc Marquez heads to the French MotoGP fresh off the back of his impressive performance in Spain, where he finished second after a thrilling duel with two-time defending champion Francesco Bagnaia. However, the 31-year-old is not talking about his chances of a seventh world title just yet. Troubled by injuries and then vision problems over the years, some feared his best days were behind him. However, for Márquez, the way he took pole and then took Bagnaia over the line in Jerez on his satellite Ducati-Gresini was another step towards getting back to the top.

It was his best performance since finishing runner-up in the Australian MotoGP in October 2022.

“In terms of my plan, the path I had in mind, I won and I’m getting better and better,” Marquez said.

“Now I have to maintain my consistency from the last few races.”

Marquez, whose 59th and last win came at the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix in October 2021, is just 32 points behind series leader Jorge Martin after four races.

However, he dismisses any talk of being a title contender.

“For me, it’s too early,” he said. “It doesn’t mean that I don’t want to win the title, but it is too early to think about it because I know, and I have already understood, that I will have a lot of trouble on many tracks.

“We’ll see, but for now it’s important to look at the race that way.”

‘calm me down’

However, Marquez is surprised to be just 30 points behind his compatriot Martin, who rides for Ducati-Pramac.

“I’m really surprised because I had a very bad start to my campaign,” he said.

“This shows that we are racing to our limits, that there will still be a lot of zeroes and that the title race will be very close.

“For me, battling the Ducati leaders is already a source of pride.”

Jerez was equally important for Ducati factory rider Bagnaia as he had not won since the start of the season in Qatar. He is now only 17 points behind Martin.

The 25-year-old player is looking for his third consecutive world title.

If successful he would be the first Italian to become triple world champion on an Italian-built bike since the great Giacomo Agostini won his third (1966) of eight titles on MV Agusta.

“Our goal is always to win,” Bagnaia told Speedweek.

“The season is long, and even though Jorge Martin took the lead at the start, I am confident in our ability to come back. We have closed the gap, and every race counts.”

Bagnaia – a superstitious type who will always follow his pre-race routine of “touching the bike, kissing my gloves and patting the tank because it calms me down” – said this year’s campaign will take him to his first championship. Reminds me of the winning year.

“We have collected a lot of data that will help us overcome the current problems,” he said.

“It is the same situation as 2022, and I am confident that we will be successful.”

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)