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Marc Marquez acknowledged his struggles at the United States Grand Prix, taking responsibility instead of blaming his Ducati bike. He qualified sixth and finished fifth after serving a penalty.
Photo by Gold & Goose Photography/Getty Images
Neil Hodgson was taken aback to hear Marc Marquez take responsibility for his struggles at the United States Grand Prix, rather than blaming his Ducati bike.
Marquez, who has started from pole eight times in Austin, could only manage sixth on the grid this year. After serving a long-lap penalty for taking out Fabio Di Giannantonio in the Sprint, he fought his way to fifth place in the Grand Prix.
Ducati shares behind-the-scenes footage from every race on their YouTube channel through their âInsideâ series. In a clip from the post-Austin episode, Marquez admitted he was having a tough time.
Photo by Gold & Goose Photography/Getty Images
Speaking on the Gas It Out podcast, Hodgson pointed out that Marquez still isnât â100% fit,â which might be part of the reason heâs holding back from any public criticism of his team.
Marquez is also only second among Ducati riders in the standings, five points behind Di Giannantonio, while last yearâs runner-up Alex Marquez is back in eighth. Francesco Bagnaia sits one spot behind him.
This hasnât gone unnoticed by Hodgson, who found Marquezâs self-critical approach during a Ducati debrief particularly telling.
âI donât know if you guys watch the Ducati YouTube channel,â Hodgson said. âDo you know what I found really interesting? Obviously, itâs been edited by Ducati, so they would put this in, but it was a real standout for me, because itâs rare you hear this.
âYouâre Marc Marquez,â Hodgson continued. âYou come in and youâre having your debrief. All he did was blame himself every time. He said: âItâs not the bikeâ.â
Marc Marquez admitted he was having a tough time and took responsibility for his struggles during the race.
Marquez qualified sixth on the grid and finished fifth after serving a long-lap penalty.
Marquez served a long-lap penalty for taking out Fabio Di Giannantonio in the Sprint.
Marc Marquez has started from pole eight times in Austin.

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âI know heâs not 100% fit. Bezz was able to pull the bike five metres tighter on exit through that âSâ section to really open up that part of the track, and it was so clear to see.
âMarc was not having it, was he? Wow. Iâve stood in so many garages. I know what I used to say as an ex-rider, Iâve listened to my teammates over the years and Iâve listened to loads of riders since I retired, and itâs pretty rare you hear that.â
Marquez has often acknowledged that he isnât at full strength yet, which might explain some of his struggles this season. But even so, itâs rare to see a rider consistently blame themselves rather than looking for excuses elsewhere.
The unexpected delay to the start of the season, caused by the Qatar GP postponement, may have worked in Marquezâs favour.
This extra time off not only allows Ducati to analyse where theyâre losing ground to Aprilia but also gives them a chance to come up with solutions. By the time the rescheduled race rolls around later in the year, we might see a different order emerge.
More than anything else, though, this break has given Marquez a bit more time to recover. If his shoulderâinjured late last yearâhas been holding him back so far, then every extra week off could be crucial.
On the other hand, Marco Bezzecchi is unlikely to welcome any interruptions right now, given how well things are going for him. But if this layoff helps Marquez get closer to full strength, it could have a real impact on how things play out over the rest of the season.
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