Marc Marquez has admitted that he has not caught the right rhythm this year as he is still adjusting to Honda’s motorcycle.
The Spaniard finished ninth in qualifying for the Portuguese Grand Prix, and before the race he was expected to gain a few places. But the six-time MotoGP champion was by no means able to replicate the Austin performance as he was gaining places from lap to lap, finishing in sixth place, 16 seconds behind winner Fabio Quartararo.
Marquez said he was aware of the expectations, but said he was not deluding himself about his current potential as he was still not entirely at home on this year’s Honda motorcycle.
"I know that everyone expected more, but yesterday I told them how it would be, but they didn't believe me, saying that I was hiding my true form," said the Spaniard after the race. "We are not ready to win. We made a few small changes for the race that helped me, but it wasn’t enough. I haven’t felt comfortable on a motorcycle since the first lap. I started the race badly and drove a bad first lap, but I just couldn't find the speed. I did my best, trying to catch the rhythm, but in the end we were 16 seconds behind the leader. Of course, I can attribute the lost three or four seconds to the first laps, but I just wasn’t fast enough to overtake my rivals. Sixth place is not what we wanted. It’s not just about me, or the engine. It's all due to the fact that I didn't catch the sweet moment when everything works as it should. "
Marquez battled most of the race for places with teammate Paul Espargaro and brother Alex Marquez, otherwise an LCR Honda racer. “My goal is not to be the best of Honda’s racers, I want to fight for the top spots. However, things are not right for me at the moment, and all in all it was even worse because we didn’t have much time to prepare on the dry track. But it was the same for everyone, so that's no excuse. "
Marquez is 38 points behind the leading racers, Fabio Quartararo and Alex Rins. He has no answer yet as to how quickly he will catch up with the motorcycle and start reducing the backlog. “I’m working hard, both at home and here on the track, to improve,” he added.
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