Marc Marquez baffled by “massive” tyre drop in British GP sprint

The reigning MotoGP champion says unexpected rear-tyre graining left him fighting simply to score a point at Silverstone

Marc Marquez says he had no explanation as to why he suffered such a severe tyre drop in the British Grand Prix sprint after slumping to ninth at the finish.

The factory Ducati rider was immediately on the move when the race began, passing the Aprilia of Marco Bezzecchi for fourth by the end of the first lap.

His race began to unravel on lap five when Bezzecchi repassed him through Maggots and Becketts, even as the Italian was himself under pressure from Alex Marquez.

As Marquez slipped into the 2m00s, while the leaders continued circulating in the 1m58s, he rapidly fell down the order as Alex Marquez, Pedro Acosta and Franco Morbidelli all passed him for position.

Getting a good exit out of the final corner, he just held off the Honda of Diogo Moreira to secure the final point on a day Aprilia locked out the podium positions.

While Marquez expected some tyre wear over the duration of the race, the Spaniard admitted he was surprised as to why he suffered more than his rivals.

“I’m disappointed because we experienced a new feeling in the sprint race,” he summed up. “In practice, we never had that drop on the rear tyre.

“I was not the only one [to suffer tyre wear], many riders have it, but I was the one that suffered more, because it started super early. Already on the lap before, I started to feel a massive drop, and then I tried to survive and try to finish the race.

“When I was in that sixth-seventh position, I was suffering a lot, risking a crash a lot, and the difference in points between sixth or zero [outside top nine] is only three or four points.

“So I just finished the race and let's see for tomorrow, if I can improve. Let's see if I can manage the rear tyre better. Let’s see also if the team finds some solution to help beat the rear tyre.”

Marc Marquez, Ducati Team

Photo by: Gold and Goose Photography / Getty Images

Marquez explained that he suffered from tyre graining, a phenomenon where the rubber tears from the tread but sticks back on the tyre, creating an uneven surface.

“It's not like the temperature was much colder. The problem is that it was not tyre degradation; it was graining, and when you have graining, the rubber is not working at the correct temperature.

“Let's see if tomorrow we can find a solution, but the thing is that we will have the doubt even starting the race with some solution, because in the practice and in the warm-up, you will not feel it.”

Michelin has brought the asymmetric soft and medium rear tyres to the British GP, with all frontrunners opting for the former in the sprint.

“The rubber that the Michelin tyres bring here, it is the correct compound. It's not like they brought the incorrect compound, because if you check the tyre temperature with the tyre-tarmac, it's the correct one, we are in the correct range. So it's there where we need to understand.”

The result dropped Marquez behind Bezzecchi to fourth in the championship, 29 points behind leader Jorge Martin.