Marc Márquez finishes sixth in Portugal

A pair of safe finishes for the Repsol Honda Team in at the Portuguese Grand Prix brought with them solid points as Marc Marquez crossed the line in sixth.

Sunday in Portimao started with perhaps the most important session of the weekend, the dry Warm Up the first real chance for the Repsol Honda Team to gather good data in the dry after two days of rain. Both Marc Marquez and Pol Espargaro spent the entirety of the session on track to maximise the information gained. A late lap saw Marquez end the morning in third with Espargaro further down the timesheet in 14th.

Marc Marquez put together a safe Grand Prix in Portimao, crossing the line in sixth place after a close battle with LCR Honda rider Alex Marquez which saw the pair battle to the finish line. Starting in ninth place, Marquez was able to hold position inside the group as the field filtered through the tight opening sector of the track. Settling into tenth place as the first lap came to a close, the eight-time World Champion made steady progress over the following laps and passed his teammate after a brief but intense battle with 19 laps to go. Falls ahead saw Marquez promoted two positions before he ultimately fought for sixth place against Alex Marquez, the pair’s battle going right to the finish.

After the race, Marquez heads to Jerez 11th in the World Championship standings with 31 points – now 38 points behind new World Championship leader and race-winner Fabio Quartararo.

The Repsol Honda Team will now head immediately to Jerez de la Frontera for round six of the MotoGP World Championship. Improving results on both sides of the Repsol Honda Team garage is the only objective for the weekend.

Marc Márquez, 6^th: “It’s not the result we want or want to be fighting for but today we did not have the feeling. Already in Warm Up I was not feeling how I wanted, and we made a small change for the race which helped a bit but the speed of our rivals was more than we had. We were there fighting with Pol in the start of the race and then Alex in the second half, it was an all-Honda battle really. Within this battle we were able to come out on top which was a positive but it’s true this is not where we should be. We need to be faster, in Jerez it’s time to be faster and finish closer to the front.”

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Heroic seventh for returning Marquez

All eyes were on the eight-time World Champion as he put in a champion’s effort to finish the Portuguese Grand Prix in a scintillating seventh.

The sun was again shining on the Algarve as the MotoGP World Championship lined up for round three of the 2021 season. A calm Warm Up session saw both the Repsol Honda Team riders confirm the feeling on their respective Honda RC213V machines.

When the lights went out, Marc Marquez was the centre of attention as he shot forward from sixth and immediately began to battle inside the top three. The fighting was fierce, and a still-recovering Marquez found himself forced to ease the intensity of his fight. Settling into his rhythm, the #93 worked to hold his spot in the top ten while avoiding any costly mistakes.

Completing his objective of finishing the race, Marquez crossed the line in seventh and as top Honda. The incredible effort of the race was clear to see as an emotional Marc Marquez was welcomed back into the Repsol Honda Team garage to a roar of applause from the team. With his nine points for seventh, Marc Marquez ends a point drought of 518 days.

The MotoGP World Championship now settles into a familiar rhythm, a week away from the circuit before returning for round four in Jerez.

Marc Márquez, 7th: “There were a lot of emotions this weekend and when I arrived in the box I just exploded, not for the pain but there was something inside that needed to come out. I felt so much support from everyone and especially my family and friends. To feel like a MotoGP rider again was the most important thing and it was a great feeling. I didn’t enjoy today’s race, I suffered a lot, but it was the most important step in my recovery so far. We were able to finish the race, that was our main goal – the position didn’t matter but to finish 13 seconds behind first was an impossible dream. I think I felt best when I was riding alone in the middle of the race, the start of the race was a bit of a shock after so long! The last laps were just about finishing. Now we look to Jerez.”

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