Marc Márquez achieves the 'pole' in Motegi, in the wet, three years later

Marc Marquez is back.

Thomas Osborne
Thomas Osborne
25 September 2022 Sunday 20:40
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Marc Márquez achieves the 'pole' in Motegi, in the wet, three years later

Marc Marquez is back. In his express recovery, in his second appearance after three months off, the driver from Cervera won pole position again three years later, on the same stage in Japan, but in very complicated wet conditions. 1,071 days have had to pass since October 19, 2019, the last day in which he had been the fastest on a qualifying Saturday. Zarco and Binder will accompany him in the first starting row, which will be dry. Are you aiming for victory?

"The last time it was here three years ago. Too long. I had to take advantage of it. Now I feel more comfortable in the water, since the full strength of the arm is not used. I have taken a risk and I have taken advantage of it. I want to thank all the people that has helped me get back to where I wanted. Let's wait for what happens in the race", said a Márquez excited by the achievement.

After two years of absence due to the pandemic, MotoGP returned to Japan, but the rain altered the usual program. The second morning free practice (FP2) was able to be carried out, in which Marc Márquez was the fastest on the wet track – 93 had not led a session since the first in Portimao. But the persistence of the rain and the accumulation of water in Motegi forced the cancellation of the last training session (FP3) and interrupted the Moto2 qualifying, which lasted an hour and a half.

In Q1, with the tarmac flooded, Zarco and Martín, the two Ducati Pramacs, surpassed the playoffs, which would reach Q2 with a few acclimatization laps in water. Enea Bastianini, the fourth in contention in the fight for the championship, crashed and will start far behind, 15th on the grid.

In the 15 minutes of Q2, the fight for pole was a succession of times going down with each lap, with a spectacular duel between Marc Márquez and Johann Zarco. The 93 began giving war, to which the Frenchman replied, the pilot who came the most shot in water since the playoffs. He repelled the clock by 36 thousandths. But the Catalan returned to the charge and snatched the provisional pole for another 76 thousandths. Oliveira, Binder and Aleix Espargaró remained on the lookout. Quartararo and Bagnaia looked more uncomfortable and less confident in the water. The Italian would start 12th and the leader, 9th.

In the last three minutes they went to the final attack. Marc Márquez gave a t-turn at his speed and marked a stratospheric 1m55s214 in water, that is, 4 tenths less than his previous lap. Zarco and Binder responded by lowering the time in the first partials, but they worsened in the last two. They couldn't beat the Catalan rider, who survived the water session and savored the pleasure of pole position, the 91st of his career.

His team welcomed him in the parc fermé with a standing ovation, as well as the Honda bosses, who came to see Motegi. The brand with the golden wing has returned to the top thanks to Marc Márquez.

An atypical GP, with the living memory of the covid in the masks worn by all Japanese fans and track marshals, and with the program disrupted, which has only been left with two of the four usual training sessions. In addition to the incidence of rain, one of the free sessions on Friday was canceled to give the teams time to prepare the material, given that the last race in Aragón was last Sunday and there was a risk of a delay in the arrival of the planes of charge.