The Spaniard was once again the top GP23 and only lost one point over the course of the weekend to championship leader Jorge Martin in a weekend of damage limitation.

Unlike yesterday, Marquez didn’t get off to a good launch and had to carve his way through the field one rider at a time, which meant using more of his tires.

“Extra work. Extra work today, especially because the start was good, but not super good.”

“So, I made a mistake there with the clutch, and then, you know, I went on the other side today, on the upside, to try to overtake some riders, but even like this, I was too far on the first lap.”

“And then, that 14th position forced me to put some rear tire, especially to overtake on the first two laps, because if you are with the medium, then you are stuck behind the others and you can’t [overtake]. But I tried to manage well, and then in the last laps I had something more!”

“The good thing is that I thought that I was fighting for 5th position, and then when I arrived at the first corner, after the finish line, I saw that I was in 3rd place, and that was a shot of adrenaline. And I’m surprised!”

In contrast to the leading GP24s of Bagnaia and Martin, Marquez opted for the softer rear tires.

When asked if choosing the soft rear tire was the correct one as the leaders who chose the medium tires maintained a steady pace and were able to pull ten seconds over the next group which Marquez was a part of.

“It was risky, but not super risky, because in the end, the tire consumption on the right side, that is the worst, was very similar to both tires.”

“In fact, I want to see, because it’s the first time since Honda, I had everything under control, and today is the first time that I chose a different tire option compared to the two top guys of Ducati. So, I’m interested to analyze the data, to see what’s going on, and to see also the tire consumption.”

And where does Marquez see himself in a major decision to choose the second factory Ducati rider, which will be held this weekend in Mugello.

“I’m quiet and I’m comfortable with the situation. I’m enjoying a lot. For me, this is the most important thing, and I’m doing my best.”

Marquez also stressed the importance of qualifying for the upcoming weeks, as he feels that it is the only area which is preventing him from winning his first-ever race with Ducati.

“Of course,  as I said yesterday and I repeat today, I need something to fight for the title. Why? Because I need to improve that qualifying practice. If I improve the qualifying practice, then everything is possible.

“But starting in that 14th position, for example, today, everything becomes more and more difficult.”