The qualifying session that defined the 125cc starting grid this lunchtime ended with a bittersweet taste for Marc Márquez. The Repsol rider, happy with the pace and setup achieved during this morning’s free practice, saw a place on the front row slip away in the closing minutes of the qualifying. Márquez finished sixth, 390 milliseconds behind Sandro Cortese, who will start from the pole position tomorrow.
On the boiling asphalt of Mugello – which reached 49ºC in the qualifying session -, Marc Márquez demonstrated a significant evolution compared to his feelings yesterday. Adapting to the pot-holed Italian track, the Repsol rider and his crew achieved a setup on his Derbi RSA that allowed him to ride just 78 milliseconds off the best time this morning.
In the qualifying session, after confirming his tyre choice and the setup of his machine, the Repsol rider tried to take a place on the first row of tomorrow’s starting grid. He went into the garage just ten minutes from the end and after putting on a softer compound tyre, he went back out on the track. However, with the sun and high temperatures prevailing at the Italian track again, the grip of his Derbi significantly increased, causing his rear wheel to bounce, which prevented him from closing in on the leading times. He managed to improve his best time but in the end, he finished sixth, 390 milliseconds off the best time.
Marc Márquez, 1’58.705 sec, 32 laps, 168 KM >> Audio
“This morning, I managed to improve my confidence with the machine and we picked up a good pace, which allowed me to clock up the time easily. But in the qualifying, despite having the ideal setup clear, we made a mistake with the tyre choice. We put on the softer compound to try to do a fast lap and that was a mistake because it was so hot that the machine had too much grip. This made the rear wheel start to bounce a lot and I couldn’t move ahead. For tomorrow’s race, we know which tyres we are going to use – the harder compound tyres – and we have also decided on the chassis and suspension setup, so I’m sure that we’ll be able to fight up front”.
