The Repsol Honda Team rider places third at the Circuit Ricardo Tormo. Joan Mir sits out the rest of the Grand Prix after a crash suffered on Friday.
Valencia, a regular venue for the end of the MotoGP season, experienced its first Saturday of sprint racing with full stands and under a completely clear sky.
After earning a direct spot in Q2 on Friday, Marc Márquez began Saturday with his mind set on having a good FP2 and achieving a fast lap, in order to be as high up as possible on the starting grid.
In the session that determined pole position, the Repsol Honda Team rider managed to set a best time of 1:29.275, putting him ninth on the grid.
In the 13-lap sprint race, Márquez made a great start and gained positions, crossing the finish line third a result that allowed him to score 7 points.
MARC MÁRQUEZ – 3rd
“You can give all the presents, all the helmets, all the boots you want – but the best present is what you give on the track. That’s what today was about, giving something to the Repsol Honda Team, to HRC, to my people who have been with me across this journey. I increased the risk I was taking a step and even in the race I almost crashed many times, but today I was able to do a good start, a good first lap and make a good race. It’s important to enjoy this special moment with everyone, it was honestly hard to fight the emotions on the podium. All of my team, HRC and the fans there – it was really nice to give everyone this moment. The objective is to continue like this tomorrow, but we need to see the conditions, how we start, many things.”
