Repsol Honda’s Marc Marquez has been discussing the incident with Rossi in Argentina, and what lessons he will take from it.
At a media event in Barcelona on Wednesday, Reigning MotoGP™ World Champion Marc Marquez talked about crashing out of the race in Argentina after clashing with Valentino Rossi on the penultimate lap. Rossi said after the race that Marquez still has a lot to learn, something the Spaniard agrees with: “After viewing the race several times, I still stand by what I said in Argentina. These things happen in racing, and you have to learn from it, and I am still young, so I have a lot of lessons to learn. That’s the thing with racing incidents, sometimes they benefit you, and sometimes they don’t.”
“But that is all part of the learning process. I am convinced that there was zero intention on my part or Rossi’s to cause the accident. I have always said that Rossi is my idol, and a benchmark for us all. I have learned a lot from him over the years, and I am still learning. Everything makes you better, even this crash.”
When asked about exactly what lessons he will take from the weekend, he replied: “On one hand I learnt about Rossi’s approach, choosing the extra hard tyre to attack at the end of the race, a tyre that I did not have a good feeling with in practice, so we decided to risk going with the softer compound (hard tyre). And the truth is, the gamble almost paid off, we just missed out by a lap and a half. I learned other things too, but those I will keep to myself.”
Marquez then discussed how he feels about his title chances, considering the fact he is 30 points behind Rossi in the standings, after just 3 races: “There are lots of things that make me feel very optimistic. For one, I could have won all three races so far. If I had not made the mistake at the first corner in Qatar, I think I would have been on the podium guaranteed. I won in Austin, and if I did not fall in Argentina, we would have finished second. So we are in good shape for the rest of the season, and we have done a good job so far. Secondly, in 2013 after the first six races, Dani (Pedrosa) was leading the standings, Jorge (Lorenzo) was second and I was third, 30 points behind Dani, and I still went on to win the title.”
He then touched on his relationship with Rossi, and whether the incident would affect it: “We are both okay with each other. We are two riders who know how to differentiate between life on and off the track. On track, everyone is looking out for their own interests, so I hope that does not change our relationship.” – Motogp.com
