Alberto Puig: “Marc’s gap was really big and this gives us extra motivation.”

The Team Manager of the Repsol Honda Team, Alberto Puig, analyses the start of his second season at the helm of the team. After two races, Marc Márquez leads the MotoGP World Championship thanks to a second position in Qatar and a win in Argentina. On the other side of the box, Jorge Lorenzo continues to adapt to his Honda and recover from injuries, although his result at Termas de Río Hondo was hindered by a problem at the start.

[Question] What was the strategy for the Argentina race?

[Answer] The weekend was what we would have wished for. And the truth is that Marc’s gap was really big and this gives us extra motivation. We understand that the 25 points are the same with a 10 second lead or with a two seconds lead, the target is to get the 25 points. The strategy for Marc was to start strong and try to pull away.

Fortunately, he had no one in front of him and he could manage to do his plan. He was clearly fast from the first turn ant that was it. Jorge, the plan was to start well at the beginning and then use his strong points the first laps and try to settle into his pace, but he had a problem and this ruined his race.

[Q] Positive points and negative points after race?

[A] The positive is the victory and negative is the problem Lorenzo had at the start and this penalised him.

[Q] The view from pit wall during race?

[A] With the lead Marc had it was much more relaxing that when he is racing in a group.

[Q] Which is the balance after 2 races?

[A] The balance is good because last year we left here with 0 points and this year 25, and like our competitors we will also play our cards. In Jorge’s case we understand the first part of the season won’t be easy but we hope and expect once he used to get to this bike he will fight again for the top position.

MotoGP

2 days ago