Marc Marquez ‘happy’ despite crashing out of second in San Marino MotoGP

ONCE again we’re left scratching our heads wondering ‘how does Marc Marquez do it?’, but not for the usual reason.

Spanish rider Marc Marquez lifts his bike after a fall during the MotoGP race on September 14, 2014 at the Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli in San Marino. AFP PHOTO / GIUSEPPE CACACE

ONCE again we’re left scratching our heads wondering ‘how does Marc Marquez do it?’, but not for the usual reason.

The brilliant Spaniard crashed in pursuit of Valentino Rossi in the early stages of the San Marino MotoGP, costing him a likely second place finish.

Fortunately the misstep came at a low-speed corner. Marquez was able to pick up his Honda and, with a little help from the marshals, bump-start it and rejoin.

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He would take the chequered flag in a lowly 15th place but still manage to take home a solitary world championship point.

Yet he was still smiling after the race. No, it was more than that. He was actually “happy” with how the day went.

How can he smile? How can he still be so upbeat in the face of defeat?

“I’m happy with how today went,” he explained, “because yesterday I did not think that I would be capable of sticking with Valentino and Jorge.

“They had a little bit more pace, and today we were able to get fairly close to them.”

Marquez and Lorenzo pursue Rossi in the early laps.

Like Brno and unlike everywhere else this season, Marquez was trying to override a bike that wasn’t quite to his liking. Unlike Brno he had the scent of victory in his nostrils, goading him into his first race crash of the season.

Making an uncharacteristically fast start from the second row he latched onto the tail of Rossi, briefly passing him before ‘The Doctor’ slipped back ahead. Marquez followed the Italian past Lorenzo on the fourth lap, the pair leaving the Yamaha man behind as they rode a fierce pace at the front of the field.

Their battle lasted just five more laps, Marquez pushing a fraction too hard over the apex kerb at Turn 4 and losing the front end of his Honda.

“I saw the possibility of fighting with Valentino for the victory, but that was not possible in the end because of the mistake,” Marquez said.

“I was riding over the inside of the rumble strip and that meant that I lost the front.”

“Luckily I was able to rejoin the race, continue with a good pace and score a point that could always come in handy in the future.”

It is the first time Marquez has been pressured into a mistake all season, but the loss of 19 points does little to hurt his title prospects.

He still leads the standings by 74 points over Honda teammate Dani Pedrosa, with Rossi a further point adrift with five races remaining.

Originally published as Marc Marquez ‘happy’ despite crashing out of second in San Marino MotoGP