Marc Marquez admitted that he had to conserve his energy on the opening day of the Hungarian Grand Prix, as lingering physical issues continue to affect his performance.
The reigning MotoGP champion ended up seventh quickest in practice at Balaton Park, behind the similar Ducatis of Fabio di Giannantonio and Fermin Aldeguer. Although he topped the timesheets in FP1, he slipped down the order in the afternoon as temperatures dropped and rain threatened.
While Marquez pushed from the outset in Mugello after returning from his injury layoff, the Spaniard said he had to adopt a cautious approach this time to avoid a crash.
“I was more in control because I feel worse [than Mugello],” he said. “Let’s see if I feel better tomorrow.
“What I don’t want to have is a big crash. It’s true that when you are pushing, you can always crash, especially in the tight corners. But today I try to manage all things, and especially, I tried to keep in the tank some power for the next two days.”
With the Balaton Park race taking place a week after Mugello as part of a double header, Marquez said there was no improvement in his fitness level.
“Physically, I’m the same as in Mugello; neither better nor worse,” he said.
“The good thing is that this circuit is less physically demanding than Mugello. Let’s see if we can improve our riding style tomorrow, because today was mentally tough. I conserved my energy, pushing hard in the sectors.”
Marc Marquez, Ducati Team
Photo by: Gold and Goose Photography / Getty Images
When asked to elaborate on his physical condition, he admitted to being somewhat disappointed by the lack of progress.
“I expected to feel better, being on a circuit with more left-hand corners.
“I got rid of the nerve issue at Mugello and that’s behind me now; but the concern I have now is with the muscles. When you have seven surgeries on your arm, the muscles are affected, and we have to see how far they can go now.”
He added: “It’s true that when I wear the helmet it’s difficult. This morning I got out and I tried to push, but immediately in two laps, I feel like now the body position is not the correct one, so I step back the pace for half second, one second and then try to manage on that corner where I’m struggling more.
“But it’s super difficult about mental side to take the correct reference, because when you want to attack, you need to brake later and you don’t have the correct reference and it’s the most difficult thing.”
Marquez impressed his rivals with his speed on medium tyres, with Aprilia’s Jorge Martin counting him as one of the favourites for Sunday.
But the factory Ducati rider, who dominated last year’s inaugural race at Balaton Park, wasn’t too optimistic about his long-run pace.
“If [the race is] for five laps, yes [I can be strong]. The sprint is 14 laps, more or less; there, I have no option.
“It’s true that the speed is there, because as I showed in Mugello, one lap was close to the pole position, not very far. But no, [I can’t fight for victory]. I’m happy to hear that, but it’s not the time.”
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