Marc Marquez: Before the weekend, this result would have felt like a dream

Pulse Sports Team 11:39 - 11 October 2026

Marc Marquez expressed immense satisfaction with his overall performance across the Indonesian Grand Prix weekend, despite finishing sixth at the Mandalika Circuit.

This marked the first time Marquez has seen the chequered flag on the island of Lombok, following a record of three retirements and a DNS. Crucially, he did not concede a single point to main title rival Jorge Martin and lost just three points to Marco Bezzecchi over the entire weekend.

"It's easy to explain. If you had told me on Thursday that I would lose just three points to Marco and finish level with Jorge across the whole weekend, it would have felt like a dream. And we achieved that at what is our weakest circuit. We had a great weekend and remained consistent throughout. It's true that we suffered a lot in the race, especially in the second half, but I'm pleased with how everything turned out. "The rear tyre degradation was huge. The front was perfect. It's true that I was losing a bit in Turn 10, but that was my strategy. I didn't take any risks because, with 12 laps to go, I could feel the pace dropping. I knew Pedro (Acosta) and Ai (Ogura) would overtake me anyway, and possibly Fabio (Di Giannantonio) as well, though he ended up retiring in the end. "My strategy was to avoid risks. I wasn't braking late; I didn't have the confidence. In a few practice laps I was able to brake late into Turn 10, but today I felt I had far more to lose than to gain. "I pushed hard for a few laps and felt I could match Jorge's pace, but only for ten laps like in yesterday's sprint, not for 27. The truth is that I have to ride differently and adapt to many things. Today, I just focused on maintaining a consistent pace. "With 12 laps remaining, I could tell Pedro was playing with us because he had an issue with tyre pressure. Ogura was extremely fast towards the end, and the only real fight I had was with Fabio because we're on the same bike. The others were simply faster than me. Sometimes you have to accept that, and that's exactly what I must do if I want to win the title," Marquez said.

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