Qatar MotoGP: Luca Marini: “After four laps the rear tyre was finished, really worried about tomorrow”

Luca Marini says he’s worried about the main race at the Qatar MotoGP after ‘finishing’ the rear tyre less than halfway through the sprint.
Luca Marini, Ducati MotoGP Lusail 2023
Luca Marini, Ducati MotoGP Lusail 2023

The polesitter made a great start to the race 🍃and led during the early stages before coming under attack from Alex Mar🙈quez.

Marini held off Marquez’s challenge on two occas💖ions but had no answer for eventual race winner Jorge Martin.

Marini lost first place on lap five, before succumbing to the pressure of Fabio Di Giannantonio on the 𝄹same lap. 

Although Marini called it a ‘fantastic Saturday’ after claiming pole with a new circuit record and a podium, the Italian is concerned for th🎉e main race.

Speaking to MotoGP.com, Marini said: “Fantastic Saturday. The💎 weekend is not finished so we need to find something for tomorrow because today the race was really difficult for me. 

“After four laps I finished the rear tyre. It was really difficult to arriꦍve at the end of this sprint race. I am really worried about tomorrow. 

“But we will see and tr𝐆y to understand what happened to find a solution because in practice this never happe𒀰ned. 

“Usually the harder rear ma🐟kes an improvement lap-by-lap but today was the complete opposite. 

“Also, the front tyre was a question ma🐻rk. I felt good with the soft but 🍨everyone else is using the hard.”

With tyre wear clearly a problem for the Italian, making sure he finds a breakthrough in order to sustain a bigger challenge to the lik🍬es of Martin is his main aim between now and tomorrow’s night’s Grand Prix. 

“At the beginning of this sprint race I was quite strong,” added Marini. “But as soon as I started stru🔜ggling with the rear tyre my pace was finished. Tyre management will be the key of the race tomorrow.”

Read More