Marc Márquez overcomes pressure problems

BarcelonaMarc Márquez's victory in the Brno sprint hung in the balance. The Catalan rider crossed the finish line first after demonstrating from the outset that he had more pace than anyone else. But the stewards weren't so sure and opened an investigation to review his tire pressure. He could have broken the rules. If that were the case, he would have received a penalty that would have left him off the podium and out of the points. In the end, nothing happened, and his first position remained firm.

Márquez timidly celebrated his victory in the short race in the Czech Republic. He wasn't entirely sure. And yet he had put in a display of riding. The umpteenth. He started second, because the pole It had been achieved by his Ducati teammate, Pecco Bagnaia. Furthermore, he had crashed in qualifying. But that didn't seem to matter to the Cervera champion, who only needed two corners to take the lead. The victory seemed unquestionable.

This is where his Ducati's pressure problems began to appear. Marc Márquez noticed this and, to correct it, he tried to brake and let Pedro Acosta pass. He needed to increase the pressure. According to the regulations, the rider was to complete at least 30% of the short race laps with a pressure higher than the minimum dictated by Michelin. That is, three of the ten laps.

With this maneuver, he achieved it despite putting his victory at risk. The penalty would have been severe. Making this strategic move, Márquez got behind Pedro Acosta and continued racing until, with two laps to go, he overtook him to win the race.

The rest of the sprint was dominated by Àlex Márquez's 17th place finish, having started fifth but penalized for a terrible start that saw his bike spin. Pedro Acosta secured second place, and Enea Bastianini completed the podium. Pecco Bagnaia eventually dropped to seventh, in another forgettable sprint for the Italian.