After several challenging months and being away from the desired results, Marc Márquez finally achieved his first podium of 2023 in a premier class race. He finished third at the Japanese GP, right in the home round of his team, Repsol Honda, just behind Jorge Martín (Prima Pramac/Ducati) and Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati).

In a press conference, the six-time world champion of the premier class emphasized the importance of the result, which had been sought for a long time: ‘Of course it was an important podium: we were looking for it all the season and arrived very late. But arrived in Honda’s home circuit, in a day that I took profit from the situation, from the weather condition’.

Regarding the development of the race for him, Márquez commented: ‘I tried to manage the race in the best way. When we changed the tyres [bike] on the first lap I knew that the race would be very, very long. And during the race you have different moments: in the beginning I was struggling a little bit too much, but then I was trying to manage the tyre and when the track was in real wet conditions I started to attack and I started to be faster and faster’.

Finally, Márquez praised the riders who finished ahead of him: ‘Massive race from these two guys, that fighting against the championship it’s not easy to take the risk that they take. But we will enjoy the podium’.

O conteúdo ‘It was an important podium; it arrived very late’ – Marc Márquez aparece primeiro em Motorcycle Sports.

Deniz Öncü was battling for second place in the Moto3 Japanese Grand Prix when, seven laps from the end of the race, he suffered a fall.

The Red Bull KTM Ajo rider was in turn nine when he lost control, at a time when he was holding the second position just ahead of Ayumu Sasaki (Liqui Moly Husqvarna Intact GP).

After the incident, Öncü tried to continue the race but he was far back in the field and eventually retired. With Jaume Masiá’s winning (Leopard Racing/Honda), he now trails the championship leader by 52 points, which is a significant setback in his championship ambitions.

You can watch or rewatch the fall in the following video.

O conteúdo Video: The crash at Motegi that could cost a lot to Deniz Öncü aparece primeiro em Motorcycle Sports.

Diogo Moreira started the Moto3 Japanese GP as the fastest rider in the first practice session. It was right at the end of the session that the Brazilian rider set the morning’s benchmark time in Motegi.

After constant changes in the lead during the first 15 minutes, Jaume Masiá (Leopard Racing/Honda) held the top spot for about 13 minutes until he was overtaken by Ryusei Yamanaka (Gaviota GasGas Aspar). The last 15 minutes were again intense, with a lot of instability in the timing table.

At the very end, Moreira (MT Helmets-MSi/KTM) – who had briefly taken the lead before – posted two fast laps in succession that put him at the front. His best time was 1m57.260s, allowing him to beat David Muñoz (BOE Motorsports/KTM) by 0.206s. Masiá finished in third. Further down the field, the other rider tied for the championship lead, Daniel Holgado (Red Bull KTM Tech3), placed sixth.

Timesheet:

O conteúdo Diogo Moreira opens Moto3 Japanese GP on top of P1 aparece primeiro em Motorcycle Sports.