Eight-time world champion Marc Marquez claimed a first MotoGP sprint win at the Aragon Grand Prix on Saturday he insisted that his MotorLand feat is not quite the dawn of a second ‘Marquez era’.
First in every session and with complete control from the first corner until the last of a hot 11-lap sprint at the MotorLand circuit as a prelude to round 12 of 20 in 2024 on Sunday, Marquez finally regained P1 status after 1042 days and since ending what was a career-long premier class association with Honda.
It was also the 31-year-old’s maiden trophy on the Ducati Desmosedici and the year-old GP23 model that aced last season’s championship.
Marquez has been formidable across the resurfaced MotorLand asphalt and a modern and sprawling circuit that first welcomed the series back in 2010.
The 2024 edition is the fifteenth visit by MotoGP to central eastern Spain and Marquez already has five victories at the site. It is also one of five current anticlockwise venues in the world championship and Marquez is especially virulent in left-hand turns.
On Saturday morning he scooped his 94th pole position and, crucially, proved he is the absolute master of low grip or mixed conditions; the overnight thunderstorms in the Aragon region had left a dirty film of dust on the surface making grip hard to judge.
Marc Marquez, Gresini Racing
Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
His principal rivals – Francesco Bagnaia and Jorge Martin – either suffered tyre degradation issues or crashed during qualifying and sprint sessions at MotorLand.
Marquez, who celebrated six titles in seven years in MotoGP, has been building up speed after his surprising defection to the Gresini team and non-works rider status in 2024 and although Aragon has provided both the rider, his fans and all followers of MotoGP, with a reminder of the scale of his ability and the rabid thirst for spoils, the Catalan was playing down talk of a peak resurgence.
“I think, unfortunately for me, it’s only here in MotorLand,” he said when asked if his dominance on Friday and Saturday was evidence of a sluice breaking through the gates. “With the front [tyre] I feel super-good this weekend.
“I’m riding in a good way. I don’t have big problems. Tomorrow, for me, the most important thing is to manage the rear [tyre]. The team is already working there to try to be even more constant. But tomorrow I believe it will be different and I need to push [for] more…
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at Autosport.com – MotoGP – Stories…