Marquez shows pace in Austria, ‘but I was not happy, I expected much better’

Marc Marquez had a strong opening day at the Styrian MotoGP in both dry and wet conditions, however, the Spaniard expected better from a physical point of view. 

Following five weeks off from competitive action, Marquez was expected to have made significant improvements regarding his physical condition during the summer break. 

And while the Spaniard seemed more comfortable than in previous rounds with his positioning on the bike, the eight-time world champion ‘felt not so good from the beginning’.

"On my side, this afternoon I felt OK in the wet, but this afternoon I was not happy. I expected much better after the summer break," said Marquez. 

"I expected I would be able to ride the bike in a good way. But from the beginning, I felt not so good. So yeah, I accepted it, this was a big thing, because when you expect something will come better and it's not there, it's frustrating on the psychological side. 

"So we'll just try to work, I already changed some positions on the bike to try to find the way, and I hope that during the weekend it will be better, but in FP1, the feeling was not the best. 

"But even like this I was fast, and the level was acceptable, but it was not the one that I wanted."

With the wet conditions of FP2 expected to be a sign of things to come for Sunday’s race, getting a feel for the track and grip was vital. 

Several riders have already voiced their concerns about riding the Red Bull Ring in the wet - track safety being the issue, but Marquez said the amount of water today was ‘acceptable’ however, it could be worse if more rain comes due to the ‘uphills and downhills’. 

Marquez said: "It's true that the amount of water on the track was not a lot. Because on Sunday there is a chance of storms. 

"The amount of water will be the biggest problem on this race track because it has many uphills and downhills, and this immediately when you have uphills and downhills, it's easy to have some rivers in the middle of the track, and this becomes dangerous for the aquaplaning. 

"But today it was acceptable. Of course, turn 2 is one of the corners where you close the gas a little bit, especially in the free practice. But it was acceptable."