MARQUEZ FAILS TOGET A GRIP AT QATAR

The wrong front tyre choice cost Repsol Honda rider Marc Marquez any chance of battling for the podium at Qatar after he folded to peer pressure on the grid and made the switch from a hard to a medium compound Michelin. The Hondas of both Marquez and Cal Crutchlow ran the hard compound front throughout practice due to their aggressive braking, an area where the pair makes up their time as they continue to struggle with acceleration and top end power. But, with Sunday’s race starting nearly two hours later than scheduled thanks to intermittent showers of rain, the decision was made to switch to the softer tyre to cope with the lower track conditions – a move that backfired spectacularly. “I think the decision to delay the start of the race was the right one – but then the temperature was dropping the humidity was getting higher, and I was with the hard front tyre. I had some doubts, but the Michelin guy said that I was the only one with the hard, so I switched to the medium. “With the hard, I would have been able to fight for the victory at the end – but maybe also I would have been able to crash! The hard tyre gives less warning, and maybe if I had put that in I would have crashed.” However, despite using the tortoise versus the hare strategy that took him to the 2016 title by opting for the medium tyre and settling for fourth, Marquez was still lucky to walk away unscathed after a run-in halfway through the race with Andrea Iannone. “I got on the gas and heard a big bang, and panicked that it was the electronics breaking! I felt something hit me, but thought it was the gas because it happened at the same time I got on the power. Then I saw some replays and saw how lucky I was! With Iannone, it’s always close!”