The Gresini MotoGP rider Marc Marquez has revealed the cause of his unusually low start in the Austrian Grand Prix at Spielberg. He hardly activated the ride–height device and dropped several places.
The six-time MotoGP world champion started from the third, but he was slow off the blocks and was overtaken by other riders as they raced to the first corner. Further compounds his misfortune, during the race, Marquez was tapped from behind by Franco Morbidelli’s Pramac Ducati on the brakes, which pushed him off the racing line and onto the edge of the track’s asphalt run-off and was thus left to 13th.
The source of Marquez’s slow beginning became more apparent when it was then claimed that his holeshot device, necessary to help propel the bike at the starting gate, had not worked as it should have.
Marc Marquez Address Technical Issues on the Grid
He said that the cause of the problem was a faulty tire valve detected a little before the race began. Gresini mechanics were forced to run to the Michelin garage to change the tire rim in what could be described as a commanding run. The tire change was done before the start was affected, but the tire’s temperature dropped, which occupied Marc Marquez’s mind during the formation lap.
Describing the moments before the race, Marc Marquez said,
Today, I put more attention on putting the tyre temperature and I was less concentrated on the front device. I engage and thinking about the front tyre, I disengage again, lowering the pressure to increase the temperature.
Even Marquez had to admit that, during the warm-up lap, he concentrated more on the tyre temperature than he did with the ride-height device.
Ride-Height Devices and Future Regulations
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The event raised many questions about the security and prospects of using ride-height devices. Still, Marc Marquez does not consider it appropriate to speak about a ban, at least after the accident occurred in his team. Speaking on Thursday, on the occasion of the presentation of BMW M Neon, Mike stated that MotoGP is to ban the electronic aids that comprise the ride-height device from the season 2027, and regulations are also expected to change to 850cc ones.
Commenting on the upcoming changes, Marc Marquez said,
We will have a ban but in ’27, so of course they already did a solution,” he said. “But for now to ’27, as KTM showed this weekend [with Pol Espargaro’s test bike], we will see many [new] things.
