Marquez achieves incredible podium in first MotoGP race

“To tell the truth, I was pretty nervous on the grid because it was my first MotoGP race. I do not think I’ve ever been so nervous before. I found it hard to keep calm and I was not as focused as I used to be in Moto2. However, I regained my concentration at the last moment. The start was important and we knew that we were taking off from the dirty part of the track. I did not get off well, but I was able to attack on the opening laps and overtake many riders. I think that this was the key. When I rode behind Dani I learnt a lot; also later on with Valentino. Fighting against him is always nice to watch, but it’s always tough at the same time. Valentino was a tough rival to try and overtake on the final laps. He beat us this time, but we hope to learn from him and from everyone who went faster than us.”

"Today’s race was good, in part. I rode strongly and at a good level, although I had to slide around a lot during the entire race to combat a lack of rear grip. I saw from the opening lap that Lorenzo was going much faster and I tried to keep my position, because I knew that in the corners the traction issue came into play. I tried as hard as I could to keep my position, but then Rossi came through at a blistering pace and, to tell the truth, I could not stop him. I did all that I could, but it was not enough. Maybe there was a set-up issue with the rear, because I had problems with it all weekend and we did not have enough grip tonight. In the end I was off the podium, which is a shame considering that we had some good preseason tests and that the set-up was good in those tests. For some reason, it just did not work for us tonight.”