Marc Márquez wins wild Jerez Sprint after rain turns race upside down

Jerez MotoGP Sprint Race Quotes

Marc Márquez – P1

“I can say, in a way, that I crashed at the right place and at the right time! Obviously, nobody ever wants to crash and it was my mistake to stay out on track, but it’s never easy to decide whether to pit or stay out. It wasn’t the right choice, but luckily I crashed at the last corner: I waited in the gravel trap until all the riders had passed, and then I returned to the pits for the bike swap. When I rejoined the track I realised I was third, and then I worked my way up to first position. We still have work to do ahead of the race in order to make a step forward also in dry conditions.”

Marc Márquez scrambles to recover after his late Sprint crash at Jerez.

Francesco Bagnaia – P2

“I didn’t get a good start but still tried to follow the riders ahead of me. Then some light rain started and I found myself unable to push, as I was struggling with grip. At some point I hoped that the rain would intensify and kept myself ready for this. I maybe should have pitted one lap earlier to get the tyre up to temperature, but it still went well anyway. I tried to stay with Marc after he overtook me, but when I saw he had another level of confidence in the rain, I chose to bring second place home. I noticed a few things in this Sprint that we can work on ahead of tomorrow’s race.”

Francesco Bagnaia celebrates second place after bringing the factory Ducati home behind Marc Márquez in the Jerez Sprint.

Franco Morbidelli – P3

“Just like yesterday, I’m unable to extract the maximum potential from the bike, especially with new tyres. Step by step, I’m able to improve, even if there’s nothing particularly outstanding. Of course, we’re working very hard and trying many things. We also did that today in the Sprint to prepare for tomorrow’s race. If we solve this issue, we can make a strong recovery in the race.”

Franco Morbidelli celebrates his Jerez Sprint podium with the VR46 crew after rising from 18th on the grid to third.

Brad Binder – P4

“Happy and heartbroken at the same time. I felt like I timed my pit-entry well but from one lap to the next there was so much water. When I braked in the same place I was like: ‘Oh s**t’. Lost the front, slid off, picked up and carried on. To bail and still finish 4th is pretty good, so happy about that. A bit unfortunate because I would have loved to have won again. Another day.”

Fabio Di Giannantonio – P5

“Today we had the potential and the opportunity to win the Sprint, but it wasn’t possible. Still, I don’t want to focus too much on what happened in the Sprint. There are many positives for me and for the team: this is the fourth different track where we haven’t needed to change much on the bike. We’re only focusing on small details, and when it’s like this, it means you have a great package. We’re strong, the results speak for themselves. We did a fantastic job and secured an incredible pole position. We just need to keep pushing, and tomorrow we’ll have another opportunity. The goal for the race will be to start well and be in front at the first corner, then set our pace. Our rivals will want to do the same, so we’ll try to give our best.”

Raul Fernandez – P6

“We got a really good result in the tricky conditions we had in the Sprint. I think it’s very easy to make a mistake in these kind of conditions and I was a bit delayed with the change of the bike. I was concentrated on the guys in front of me and although my heart told me to go in, I followed them and stayed out on track. But, I was super competitive in the dry conditions and I feel very comfortable again in general on the bike. For tomorrow, I’m very positive – I think the bike can work very well with the medium rear and I think we did a great Saturday. Our pace in dry conditions was pretty good so, for tomorrow, I have the confidence to fight with them.”

Fabio Quartararo – P7

“I would say that for me this flag-to-flag was positive. Unfortunately, I came in one lap too late, but we still took three points. I didn’t expect to be fast in the wet today as this this was one of the first times riding in these conditions with this bike. But tomorrow will be a different story if it’s dry. We will have to work hard and find something.”

Johann Zarco – P8

“It was cool! I’m happy with the start. The first lap behind Marc was good, but then I was losing time in the fast corners. It was tough to try to catch them in other places, and I couldn’t go any faster. It was good to fight. Then, when the rain came, I hesitated about going in, but with seven riders on track, I stayed, and I should have come in. I believe I missed an opportunity there, but at the same time, it was difficult. In any case, taking a front row start in the morning and finishing in the points considering the whole situation, it’s a good result. Let’s see tomorrow!”

Johann Zarco backed up his front-row qualifying effort with another hard-fought points finish for Honda at Jerez.

Luca Marini – P9

“I think everyone enjoyed that race, you need some spice in your life sometimes! I did a great start and feeling comfortable in the dry, when I saw some rain on the screen of the bike, I waited to see a little bit the overall situation and what was happening. It’s hard to know when the best moment to pit is, I thought the first group had gone too early but finally that proved to be the correct moment. The rain arrived quite fast in the end and we battled hard until the end in these conditions. Nice to get a little reward, we will need another good start tomorrow.”

Luca Marini leads Álex Rins, Enea Bastianini and Fermin Aldeguer through worsening rain during the Jerez Sprint.

Alex Rins – P10

“More than ‘survival’ this was a race where you really had to use your head. It was quite easy to make a mistake. I’m happy about how I managed the Sprint: I entered the pits at the perfect time, and I made the flag-to-flag in a good way. I had hoped for more than P10 because of this. Overall, we are struggling, in the wet and the dry. But I will take away from today that I can be happy with how I handled the race and adapted to the situation, and let’s see what tomorrow brings us.”

Enea Bastianini – P11

“When the track was dry during the Sprint, we were competitive and I was able to gain some positions – I was up to sixth, and we were fighting to move even further forward – but midway through, it began to rain more, which made things difficult. In conditions like that, it’s always a bit of a game of roulette. When I switched bikes, I went onto the one I had crashed at the end of qualifying; the Tech3 guys put in a lot of energy to re-assemble it for which I’m super grateful, but with the lack of time available, it probably wasn’t 100 per cent. Our final position was obviously disappointing because we had been fighting for something more, but the big race is tomorrow and we’ll target the top five again.”

Pedro Acosta – P12

“I think everyone was playing the same ‘game’ but I don’t think we expected it to rain so hard and it was tricky to know when to change the bike. Anyway, it looks like we found something on the set-up today because we were making a nice race in the dry. Tomorrow we’ll try to make another step.”

Pedro Acosta leading a KTM-heavy fight at Jerez ahead of Fermin Aldeguer, Enea Bastianini and Brad Binder during Saturday’s MotoGP action.

Augusto Fernandez – P13

“I had fun today. We had a bit of everything. It was not easy to manage, but I’m happy with my performance. In the quali, I managed to be the first Yamaha in the wet, so that was not bad. In the dry, I was able to improve the feeling a bit personally, but we still have to work on the bike. That said, I was a bit closer to the other Yamaha guys, which is my main goal as a rider. There’s not much data to analyse today because of the wet sessions, but we were able to compare the feeling in the wet and the dry. In the Sprint, we focused on bringing the bike back to the box in one piece, having completed a full race-distance. This is also important for tomorrow so we have more data.”

Diogo Moreira – P14

“It was fun! It was nice to ride like this, to do my first flag-to-flag race and understand the situation. It was important to finish the race and learn a lot. Looking ahead to tomorrow, in the dry I was there, I felt fast and was following the factory Hondas. I’m excited for tomorrow; let’s see how the race goes.”

Ai Ogura – P15

“That was a difficult day and I was never fast on wet tarmac. Every time I go out on a wet track, the problem is the same – we are trying to get a better feeling on the bike but, in the wet, 80% or 90% is on the rider and I need a better feeling to go fast. We are working on finding this feeling. During the Sprint there was one part of the track where it was raining hard but, on the other side, it wasn’t raining at all and then the rain came stronger everywhere. I have to admit, I forgot there is another bike in the garage and this is why I changed so late. I even had a dry visor and I need to prepare more for difficult conditions.”

Jack Miller – P16

“Not an ideal day for us, but in these kinds of conditions you have to take risks and try to make the right calls. We were making good progress during the race, and the pace wasn‘t too bad, but when the rain started to come down it became a bit of a gamble. On that lap we were debating whether to come into the pits or try to stay out, especially with only a few laps remaining. You‘re trying to make that decision in real time, doing the calculation in your head, and unfortunately we didn‘t get the timing quite right. We still managed to finish the race in 16th, but I think we definitely had more potential today. It‘s a shame not to have made the most of it, but we‘ll take the positives and look ahead to tomorrow.”

Fermin Aldeguer – P17

“It was important to keep putting in laps and working. In the race, at the start of a season where honestly we’re not fighting for anything yet, between going back to the pits and racing for fourth or fifth place, or going for the win, I chose to go for it. It didn’t work out, but with four laps to go, anything could have happened. In the first part of the race I felt very good physically, I was able to battle with the KTMs, and these are definitely important sensations that I’ll carry with me starting tomorrow.”

Joan Mir – DNF

“We had one of those days! A difficult weekend, missing Q2 for nothing on Friday which compromised our day today, it was complicated in the wet to push for a fast lap in time. In the race I made a great start and could overtake a lot of riders, then the rain started and I made a good bike change. On the out lap I lost the front behind Quartararo, I went to pick up the bike because in races like this you always have a chance, but the damage was too much. Like always we head into Sunday to give our 100% even if the penalty makes it really difficult.”

Marco Bezzecchi – DNF

“Unfortunately, the tear-off got stuck in the fairing and it stayed there when I stopped. A bit before the start, it came loose and ended up beneath the bike, just ahead of the rear tyre, so I ran over it and started to burn out. When I got back out on the track with the rain tyres, I crashed almost straight away.”

Alex Marquez – DNF

“I felt good during the race. Maybe taking the lead wasn’t the best choice, but even this morning in the wet I felt good. I could have come in a lap earlier, but part of the track was still very dry, and on the lap when I was about to come in to change bikes, I crashed. We definitely weren’t lucky, but I’m convinced that tomorrow we have a great opportunity to be competitive again, especially if the conditions are dry.”

Alex Márquez heads Marc Márquez, Fabio Di Giannantonio and Raúl Fernández as the Sprint battle intensifies at Jerez.

Lorenzo Savadori – DNF

“Today was an unlucky race for me, the rhythm and the pace was good because I was in the top ten, so it was a good race. Then another rider did a mistake, and I did a very big crash. So fortunately, I’m not injured, nothing broken in my body but I’m not at 100%. I hope to be in a better shape for the race.”

Toprak Razgatlioglu – DNF

“I was struggling from the beginning of the race, especially with braking, because the bike wasn‘t stopping the way I expected and I was making mistakes in several corners. Even with that, I had to keep pushing, because the corners are where we have the best chance to make up ground or try to pass. When the rain started, I saw an opportunity as the pace dropped, so I tried to push harder. At Turn 5 I attempted to pass both Salvadori and Morbidelli, but I went onto a dirty line and, with the track becoming very slippery, I lost the front. I‘m very sorry for involving Salvadori in the crash. That was not my intention. As soon as I fell, I went to check on him, and I was very relieved to see that he was OK.”

Jorge Martin – DNF

“I realised straight away from the start that something wasn’t right. I had a strange feeling with the brake. We still don’t know what happened – the techs are analysing all the data. The team is still united though, and that is the most important aspect. These situations are all part of racing, and over the years I’ve learned to face them more calmly.”

Team Managers

Aki Ajo – Red Bull KTM Factory Racing Team Manager

“Today was challenging because of the weather conditions but it was the same for everyone. Generally, we’re quite happy because all three riders finished the race and there was a top four result for Brad. It’s enough to be positive, and also to look optimistically to tomorrow where it should be dry. Friday was the base for the settings and the development and we’re hoping for a good showing here for the GP distance at Jerez.”

Davide Brivio – Trackhouse Aprilia Team Principal

“Overall, it was a complicated day with the rain in Qualifying and the rain half way through the Sprint and I really think this took a very great opportunity away from us. Despite that, we managed to finish the Sprint in P6 but we were in much better shape before it started raining. Good job – congratulations – to Raul because it was easy to make a mistake. Let’s not forget that and we were able to finish, score points in the Sprint race. Concerning Ai, in the dry he was struggling a little bit and then in the wet it was more difficult. Anyway, when you are out of the top 9, it’s better not to take any risks. It was, anyway, a good test for tomorrow which, first of all, we hope will be dry, then we can fight. We try to put everything together for tomorrow and see as, for sure, we could see in the Sprint that we have a good potential. Raul was having a great pace and if we can do this tomorrow with both of them, we can recover several positions. So, let’s work on that.”

Massimo Meregalli – Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Team Director

“Today the weather conditions played a big role in the on-track action and the results. The riders already did some laps in damp conditions this morning in FP2, but it was nothing compared to the rain the riders faced midway through the Sprint. It was the first flag-to-flag of the season. When this happens, the riders have to assess the situation and decide for themselves what is the best time to come in. Both Fabio and Álex handled it well, though Fabio could have come in one lap earlier. Considering our grid positions, we can take comfort from the fact that we made the most of this afternoon’s sudden opportunity. However, with the weather forecast predicting dry weather tomorrow, we have to now switch gears again and prepare for a very different sort of race on Sunday.”

Nicolas Goyon – Red Bull KTM Tech3 Team Manager

“We have a bitter taste in our mouths today. Enea did a great job. He qualified eighth, which is his best of the season so far, and we all expected a good Sprint race. He made a bright start, showed excellent pace again and was inside the top six when the rain began to intensify. Unfortunately, the big shower came as he was in the last corner, so it was too late to pit and then he had to survive another lap on slicks on a fully wet track. When he finally swapped bikes, it was already too late. We have to focus on the positives for tomorrow, when he will start the Grand Prix from seventh. All the ingredients are in place for a strong end to the weekend.”

Fabiano Sterlacchini – Aprilia Racing

“The morning started off well enough, despite some difficulties, with four bikes still going through to Q2. It’s a shame because the sprint race was compromised by a series of unfortunate events beyond our control, like the tear-off under Marco’s tyre – a situation that has already happened to other riders but shouldn’t, because of a whole series of precautions that are supposed to be taken. As for Jorge, we had a problem for which we are still trying to figure out the cause, but it is quite clear that it was not a technical problem, but rather a procedural one. We’ll try to make up for it on Sunday, because we are competitive overall, once everything falls into place.”

Gino Borsoi – Prima Pramac Yamaha Team Director

“It was certainly an entertaining race for the fans, with a lot happening from start to finish. For us, it was also a race that could have offered an interesting result if we had managed things a bit better, especially considering that we tend to be quite competitive in wet conditions. Unfortunately, these are the kind of races where small mistakes can make a big difference. Perhaps we needed a bit more patience to fully take advantage of the changing conditions when the rain arrived. In the end, it didn‘t go our way, but we take it as part of the process and aim to do better next time.”

Marc Márquez leads the pack off the line at the start of the MotoGP Sprint at Jerez.

Jerez MotoGP Sprint Race Top Speeds

Pos

Rider

Bike

Average

Top

1	F. Bagnaia	Duc	298.3Km/h	300.8Km/h
2	L. Marini	Hon	298.5Km/h	300.0Km/h
3	E. Bastianini	KTM	298.5Km/h	300.0Km/h
4	B. Binder	KTM	298.7Km/h	300.0Km/h
5	A. Ogura	Apr	297.3Km/h	300.0Km/h
6	D. Moreira	Hon	295.8Km/h	299.1Km/h
7	P. Acosta	KTM	297.2Km/h	299.1Km/h
8	F. Di Giannantonio	Duc	297.0Km/h	299.1Km/h
9	M. Bezzecchi	Apr	297.3Km/h	299.1Km/h
10	A. Marquez	Duc	296.1Km/h	299.1Km/h
11	J. Martin	Apr	294.7Km/h	299.1Km/h
12	F. Quartararo	Yam	296.2Km/h	298.3Km/h
13	J. Mir	Hon	296.5Km/h	298.3Km/h
14	F. Aldeguer	Duc	296.0Km/h	298.3Km/h
15	J. Zarco	Hon	295.9Km/h	297.5Km/h
16	T. Razgatlioglu	Yam	293.4Km/h	296.7Km/h
17	R. Fernandez	Apr	296.0Km/h	296.7Km/h
18	F. Morbidelli	Duc	294.5Km/h	295.8Km/h
19	L. Savadori	Apr	294.1Km/h	295.8Km/h
20	A. Rins	Yam	294.4Km/h	295.8Km/h
21	A. Fernandez	Yam	293.7Km/h	295.8Km/h
22	M. Marquez	Duc	293.4Km/h	295.8Km/h
23	J. Miller	Yam	292.8Km/h	294.2Km/h

Jerez MotoGP Combined Qualifying Times

Pos	Rider	Bike	Time/Gap		Speed
1	M. Marquez	Duc	1m48.087		286.4Km/h
2	J. Zarco	Hon	1m48.227	+0.140	286.4Km/h
3	F. Di Giannantonio	Duc	1m49.097	+1.010	287.2Km/h
4	M. Bezzecchi	Apr	1m49.115	+1.028	287.2Km/h
5	A. Marquez	Duc	1m49.146	+1.059	285.7Km/h
6	P. Acosta	KTM	1m49.230	+1.143	287.2Km/h
7	J. Martin	Apr	1m49.509	+1.422	285.7Km/h
8	E. Bastianini	KTM	1m50.464	+2.377	285.7Km/h
9	R. Fernandez	Apr	1m50.524	+2.437	282.7Km/h
10	F. Bagnaia	Duc	1m51.027	+2.940	286.4Km/h
11	A. Ogura	Apr	1m51.110	+3.023	284.2Km/h
12	F. Aldeguer	Duc	1m51.444	+3.357	284.2Km/h
Q1
13	B. Binder	KTM	1m49.278	+1.011*	284.2Km/h
14	J. Mir	Hon	1m49.522	+1.255*	283.4Km/h
15	L. Marini	Hon	1m49.803	+1.536*	286.4Km/h
16	A. Fernandez	Yam	1m49.977	+1.710*	280.5Km/h
17	F. Quartararo	Yam	1m50.139	+1.872*	279.7Km/h
18	F. Morbidelli	Duc	1m50.219	+1.952*	283.4Km/h
19	T. Razgatlioglu	Yam	1m50.252	+1.985*	277.6Km/h
20	L. Savadori	Apr	1m50.390	+2.123*	281.9Km/h
21	A. Rins	Yam	1m50.763	+2.496*	283.4Km/h
22	J. Miller	Yam	1m58.941	+10.674*	283.4Km/h
23	D. Moreira	Hon	1m36.934	Q1	–