MotoGP leader Marc Marquez 'surprised' by Italian GP sprint win

The Spaniard started on pole for Saturday's sprint at Mugello but dropped towards the bottom of the top 10 at race start

Marc Marquez dubbed his Italian Grand Prix sprint win a “great surprise” after an issue with launch control at race start caused him to drop back multiple positions from pole.

The MotoGP championship leader soon recovered to fourth and worked his way through the leading pack to take the win ahead of younger brother Alex Marquez and factory Ducati team-mate Francesco Bagnaia.

“It was a super great surprise to be on pole position and to win the sprint race in the way we did, because I did a mistake on the start,” said Marquez.

“Bit confused with the launch control. I put it [on], then I didn’t read well the message, then I pressed again the button. Then I removed, and then when I was already on the lights, I opened the gas, and I saw the RPM and then I closed. I put it [on] again, and I started with that delay.”

"I was not calm on that moment,” he added. “But it was a quick reaction instinct. That moment, I thought that it was better to roll the gas, press again the button, and start with the launch control.

“Because if I start without the launch control, maybe I will start on the correct point, correct timing, but the speed - the first corner is very far, and then I will lose a lot of positions.

“I pressed the button, and then I heard the other bikes, and I didn’t see the light. I just started because I saw that the other bikes were already moving.”

Marc Marquez, Ducati Team

Photo by: Tiziana Fabi / AFP via Getty Images

The win extends Marc Marquez’s championship lead to 35 points over his younger brother in second, as Marc romps towards a seventh MotoGP world title.

That is despite some costly errors in the Sunday races this year, as Marc crashed from the lead in Texas while in Jerez, he went down into gravel from third before recovering to 12th.

So, his focus for the rest of the Mugello weekend is to not lose any points in the fight for the title.

“Before I started the GP, I had one mentality, and during the GP, I cannot change my mentality,” said Marquez, who has won all but one (Silverstone) sprint race this year.

“This doesn’t mean defend, doesn’t mean I will not try. It means that we need to be realistic.

“And if for some reason tomorrow, Pecco, who normally on Sundays is super fast, or Alex, he in Mugello is super fast, is faster than me, I need to accept and take points.”

Although Marc is Alex’s main title rival, the Gresini Ducati rider, who is searching for a maiden championship, is still in awe of his brother.

Alex Marquez, Gresini Racing

Photo by: Gold and Goose Photography / LAT Images / via Getty Images

“He’s the main opponent at the moment for the championship. Fighting against your brother is always special, but he’s one of those opponents that is tough, because he’s always there,” said Alex.

“It’s not like one practice he’s faster, one practice slower. He’s always there, very constant. He finished second and first in all the sprint races. So, it means that you cannot do any mistakes.

“He did a massive step, and as he did in Moto3, and as he did in Moto2. If he has the things he wants, he’s able to be super fast. At the moment, he’s super fast, and I’m very proud of him.”