Alberto Puig analyzes what happened in the Aragón GP last Sunday, in which a daring strategy allowed Marc Márquez to claim his sixth win of the season.
The Aragón Grand Prix saw Marc Márquez increase his lead in the World Championship for the seventh consecutive race, allowing him to go into the final stage of the season with a 72-point advantage. In addition, thanks to a fifth position for Dani Pedrosa, Repsol Honda consolidated their lead of the Team World Championship. Alberto Puig watched the masterful race management from the reigning MotoGP World Champion, who also had a corner named after him at MotorLand.
What was the strategy for the Aragón race?
“Marc knew he could win and he gambled on changing the rear tyre at the last moment. He took the decision by himself. It was a risk, but he considered he could ride well with the soft spec. He stayed with the front riders, which was Dovizioso and both Suzukis. Meanwhile Dani had problems with the hard rear, which suggests that Marc chose the correct tyre.”
Positive points and negative points after the race?
“It was a great Sunday for us. It would’ve be even better with Dani on the podium, because he had a chance of the top three. The most important thing is that Marc got his sixth victory of the season and increased his advantage in the championship. The next race in Thailand is at a new track. We did test there during the winter, but it’s still new territory for all of us. We go there to take the maximum points possible, not thinking about the title.”
The view from pit wall during the race?
“It was a great race. Personally I thought that Dovi could win if he opened a gap in the first part of the race, but lap by lap, with them both together I had the feeling Marc had a better chance to win.”
Inside story apart from official comments?
“This weekend has been another home GP for our riders and it’s been very special, above all to Marc. On Thursday the circuit named Turn 10 Marc Márquez in his honor. Marc deserves it and he did a great show in front of his fan club.”
