APRILIA
Marco Bezzecchi – 1st
“It was a beautiful race and a great day. I’m really happy because, given where we started on Friday, I honestly never thought I’d be able to win. We worked hard on Saturday night, and this morning I felt good right away. I’d like to dedicate this victory to Roberto Lunadei, who passed away last week, and to his entire family.”
“I’m not surprised by the result, because a lot of work went into it. I knew that once I got back into shape, I’d still have the speed. What surprises me most is how quickly I’m adapting to the RS-GP26. Bezzecchi has scored four consecutive wins, and that’s something to be admired. We’re a team with him, we talk in the briefings, and together we’re developing the bike, trying to help each other, and that’s fundamental to moving the project forward.”
DUCATI
Fabi Di Giannantonio – 3rd
“I’m happy with my race in Brazil, because battling with experienced riders is demanding and very rewarding. At first, my goal today was to win, but my rivals got off to a strong start and the track was very slippery: in these conditions, we lose a lot of front grip, we struggle a lot, and we can’t make the most of our strengths, braking and entry corner. Also, after my crash this morning in the Warm Up, I hurt my shoulder a bit and felt pain in the opening laps of the race. It was tough, but then I found my rhythm and things improved. In these conditions, the final goal was to secure a podium. We had a lot of fun, we came very close, and we achieved a great third place. I’d like to thank the team for their outstanding work, and I also want to thank the Brazilian fans: it was fantastic racing in such a festive atmosphere!”
Franco Morbidelli – 12th
“Unfortunately, the fact that the race was shortened didn’t help us: usually, we are slow at the beginning of the race, but the we can catch our rhythm and we are very quick in the final stages. Today we had eight laps less to make the difference. I’m sure that if we had had all the laps, we could have recovered more positions than the ones I could do in this race. But anyway, it was a great weekend, I could catch up with the Brazilian fans and all my family, it was amazing. The track is fantastic, the tarmac was tricky this weekend, but I’m sure that all the Brazilian fans had a lot of fun. Unfortunately, I couldn’t be in the front, but Diggia was on the podium today. It’s the first one in this season and it’s a great result for the team, so it’s positive.”
Marc Márquez – 4th
“Right from the start I knew that the feeling wouldn’t be the same as yesterday. I struggled a bit more, but I tried to stay calm and not push too hard in order to avoid wearing the tyres out too much. When I found myself behind Jorge (Martín) and Fabio (Di Giannantonio), I was never able to get close enough for a comfortable pass, but this is mainly due to the track’s characteristics. We’re not far from the leaders and there are a couple of areas we need to work on. Unfortunately, I didn’t have the pace to stay at the front today, but overall it was a positive weekend.”
Francesco Bagnaia – DNF
“I didn’t have the right feeling in the race and couldn’t push, so much so that in the end I crashed at turn one after constantly feeling at the limit. I didn’t have a good start and, until the crash, I simply tried to do what I could. It’s a shame, because the potential of the bike is higher, and it was clear also in this morning’s warm up. We’re working hard to recover the speed, but it’s neither an easy nor an immediate path. I made a mistake in qualifying and paid the price for it, but I don’t think I would have been able to do much better in the race anyway.”
Alex Marquez – 6th
“The initial situation was a bit confusing and maybe we deserved a delayed start to have more time. The race wasn’t entirely negative, but in turns 10 and 11 the asphalt was literally lifting and at times it felt more like a motocross race. It was important to bring home some points; it’s a shame about the top five, but we definitely had a good Sunday. Looking at the weekend as a whole, we are still missing something in qualifying for the moment.”
Fermin Aldeguer – 8th
“We’re back, but I’m not completely happy. The potential was there to be further ahead, but physically I need more time. I’m sure tomorrow I’ll wake up with quite a lot of pain all over my body and I’ll appreciate today’s result even more. Yesterday we got the start wrong; today I started more calmly, but I lost ground. Maybe I thought too much at the beginning and I should have attacked more.”
KTM
Pedro Acosta – 7th
“The first 8-9 laps were quite good but we were not so fast on the straight today. I was missing some points to fight for the podium. We made the maximum with what we have in our hands. Austin will also be a tough one with these two long straights but now we must work on it.”
Enea Bastianini – 15th
“The track was new for everybody and we thought we might suffer a bit but it was more than other races. The layout was really fast and in the middle, sectors two and three, are slow and we suffered with acceleration. Saturday was difficult because it was dry and we rode on Friday in the wet. For sure, we missed something. That is clear. Pedro was quite fast but today my pace was close to him but starting from behind is very difficult.”
Maverick Viñales – 18th
“I think this weekend was quite positive in some areas but still there is a lot of work to do; not only on the bike but also myself. It’s a combination of two. The softer compound on the rear is pushing the front more and it complicates the turning on the bike and to have a good feeling. So, we need to overcome this moment. We need to go to Austin with full motivation.”
Brad Binder – DNF
“Just a really short race. I started fast and passed a few guys at the beginning but then went into Turn 1, locked the front wheel and that was about it. I would definitely have enjoyed a few more laps. Onto America from here and we will see how we line-up.”
HONDA
Luca Marini – 11th
“When we look at the whole weekend, especially the difficulties on Friday and Saturday morning that we had, 11th place after starting 19th is a more positive result than maybe it seems. I made a good start today, but the others started better than yesterday so we could not gain these early positions to put us higher. Reducing the race distance did not change so much for us. My pace was similar to that of sixth place, and I had an enjoyable race battling with other riders. We still need to keep working, we are faster but still need more to improve over the course of a weekend and stay with the other riders.”
Joan Mir – DNF
“I made a strong start and was already able to make up three or four positions, putting myself in the top ten and settling into seventh place quite early. Our pace was good and the group ahead was not escaping, saving my tyres behind Alex Marquez. At this track the front is quite critical and after ten laps, we were struggling with the right side. I lost the front without any warning, very strange and unexcepted this feeling. We were being conservative, not really pushing, but racing can be like this and now we put a hard weekend in Brazil behind us. The good point is that we showed our speed and my physical condition is improving already for Austin.”
Diogo Moreira – 13th
“We enjoyed the weekend; it was super busy, but everything went well! Today, the start was difficult as I lost many positions, that was the main challenge, and I had to make a bit of a comeback, which was tough. We had a good pace, and that’s important. The key thing is that we scored points and learned a lot. Thanks to everyone supporting me!”
Johann Zarco – 9th
“I’m happy; today’s result is positive. I tried to manage everything as the temperatures were tough. I battled a bit and focused on keeping my pace. I was able to stay with the group and maximize our potential. Overall, it’s been a positive weekend, and we leave Brazil with high motivation for the next race in seven days, in Texas.”
YAMAHA
Alex Rins – 14th
“The update on the shortened race length came when we were on the grid. I think nobody was expecting this, but it’s great that Race Direction made this decision because it was for the safety of the riders. I felt really low grip today, I think because of the Moto2 race rubber. The race overall was nice. We did what we could and achieved two points. It was not the best, but there were some good overtakes and a bit of fighting with other riders after I made a great start.”
Fabio Quartararo – 16th
“The start was not as good as yesterday, and then we struggled a bit more. We also had an issue with the rear grip. We were informed on the reduction of the race length just a few minutes before the start, so it was quite last minute, but I had planned to go with the soft rear anyway. Today something wasn’t right, so I’m going to leave this GP behind me and enter the next round with an open mind. That said, all in all I really liked this circuit.”
Jack Miller – DNF
“Obviously it wasn‘t the weekend we were hoping for. We had an electronic issue at the start — as soon as I released the clutch, the RPM dropped and I almost stalled, so I had to recover it and that left me last going into the first corner. From there I knew I needed to try and recover positions, so I started pushing and looking for overtakes. When Frankie and Enea ran wide, I tried to stay with them, but going into Turn 2 I made the same move as yesterday and the bike locked, which led to the crash. It‘s unfortunate because, despite everything, the feeling with the bike was actually a bit better and we were closer to the others. I‘m very disappointed, and I know that both myself and the team need to do a better job.”
Toprak Razgatlioglu – 17th
“The race was a little bit better than yesterday, but rear grip is still a clear issue for us. At the moment I‘m focusing mainly on the Yamaha riders, because they are my reference, and it‘s clear that compared to others we are still missing some grip, especially on acceleration. Today my biggest difficulty was when opening the throttle. I had a lot of spin and the bike was not accelerating as it should. When I was following Fabio, I could see that in some areas — especially on the brakes and in the corners — I was able to stay with him or even close the gap, but as soon as we started accelerating, he had a clear advantage. I also made a mistake in the first corner and went wide, and after that I lost my reference and was riding on my own. Of course I‘m not happy with the result, as we are still at the back, but we did learn something, especially on the engine brake side, where I now feel more comfortable on the brakes. Now we look ahead to Texas. It will be a new track for me, but I‘m looking forward to it and I want to keep working and improving step by step.”
