Marc Márquez (1st) – “It was truly the perfect weekend. Results aside, the important thing is the incredible feeling I have with the bike and the team. The strategy for the race was to push hard in the early stages to create a gap and then try to manage it. As the laps went by, however, I noticed I was at the limit with regards to the front-end tyre pressure and I had no choice but to give up one position. It was really hard to be in Alex’s slipstream with this heat as I struggled breathing properly. I waited for the right moment to retake the lead and create the right margin, and things went as I had hoped. I’m happy.”
Alex Marquez (2nd) – “It was a great weekend. Today we gave it all and an excellent result came; we knew we could repeat the same type of race as yesterday, but it’s not a given over a 26-lap distance. We’re leaving Thailand with plenty of points and awareness of our strength. Marc and Pecco have something more but we’re working on staying with them at each race: we managed to do so here and we must be very happy with it.”
Francesco Bagnaia (3rd) – “I was expecting a bit more today but honestly speaking, the race was a very long one and I couldn’t bridge the gap. I tried to get closer to Alex, but each time I was less than half a second away from him, I ended up struggling grip-wise. I tried everything I could but my feeling wasn’t perfect today. We lost 14 points this weekend, but we need to look forward and try our best in Argentina. It’s not my favourite circuit, and this one wasn’t either, but we’ll do our best to get a good result.”
Ai Ogura (5th) – “This weekend was just a miracle! I had a good Qualifying, a good Sprint Race and even a great main Race – I can’t thank my team enough. I had another good experience today, all the race behind Franco (Morbidelli) and in the front there were another three guys on Ducati. I really learned a lot from them, it was a fantastic experience. It was perfect and a good start. I’m still a rookie and at another track it’s maybe a completely different story. I just want to keep going my way and I’m open to take anything, the bad or the good.”
Marco Bezzecchi (6th) – “On Saturday morning, I suffered a few small issues that affected qualifying. It’s a shame about the sprint start, but it nevertheless helped us gather important information for the full-length race. I enjoyed the race, keeping a good pace, and I’m pleased because we collected a few points, but most importantly, valuable information. It was a positive weekend. Of course, I’m still learning and need to improve in certain areas, but together with my team, we did a good job”.
Johann Zarco (7th) – “It was a tough race due to the high track temperatures, but I knew everyone was struggling, so I focused on conserving energy for the final stages. I felt increasingly comfortable on the bike and was able to overtake rivals, allowing us to achieve our goal. This result is a great way to start the season, and I want to thank the team and HRC for their hard work throughout the weekend”.
Brad Binder (8th) – “A really long race, for sure. I knew we had to be really easy on the rear tire and I had to be smooth on corner exit. Very tricky, especially because it is tempting to get excited and chase harder after people. I knew I had to be clever today but I also think I made a bit of a mistake with my tire choice. Anyway, I think we did a pretty good job considering it wasn’t an easy weekend. The team did a great job, so we’ll keep on fighting and hope for more in Argentina.”
Enea Bastianini (9th) – “I think we made a step this morning and I was positive for the race…but I did not expect the top ten. I think the soft tire helped give me confidence. In the second part of the race I was riding very smooth and was doing OK. It was important to check what I could do with other riders and to work out how and where I can do more. The race was good for this.”
Jack Miller (11th) – “I felt pretty decent, but I had a small issue with the fairing around lap 8, which caused me to lose touch with the front group. One of the clips popped out, and the whole fairing started coming loose. On top of that, I was cooking out there because all the air was being directed straight at me. I lost a few positions because of that, but I kept it together and brought home some points.”
Luca Marini (12th) – “A good first test for the physical and mental side, we can be satisfied with how this weekend has gone. We were able to improve our pace over the weekend. Today’s race was not as physically demanding as the Sprint, you ride these long races in a different way and there were some clouds around today. More will come; we have been able to make a really good step since we were last here – just a few months ago. At the start I made a mistake with the start procedure because I arrived late and was rushing, but then I put together a really good race to come from last at the first corner to 12th. Without this we could have been up there with Mir and Zarco, fighting inside the top ten. I am happy with what we have done, and I know more will come as the season progresses.”
Fermin Aldeguer (13th) – “We finished our first official race in the points and close to the top ten. There’s still a lot of work to do, especially with regards to the electronics and on how to work on the bike. We must get closer to the frontrunners bit by bit. To start the season with these temperatures and at this track wasn’t easy, but we did a good job. Now we much start back from Argentina knowing we have to make a step forward in each outing.”
Miguel Oliveira (14th) – “I was expecting a very long and tough race, and that‘s exactly what we got. It was incredibly hot for all of us. It was a race about managing the tires. I really struggled with front grip, couldn‘t turn the bike properly. In the end, I felt a little better, managed to recover some positions, and got into the points. Considering where I started, it‘s an acceptable result.”
Fabio Quartararo (15th) – “From the beginning of the Race, we had an issue with grip. I was struggling quite a lot. At first I thought that I just had to warm up the tyre more. I couldn’t push on the first lap, the bike was sliding, and I lost a lot of positions. Unfortunately, also later on I was not able to have a good pace and make a great race. It was really hot riding in the back of the pack and, all in all, it was quite a difficult one. Let’s see what we can do in Argentina.”
Maverick Viñales (16th) – “Well, we have a starting point. This weekend we had ups-and-downs trying to understand feelings on the bike. Now we need to be more precise and try to improve because I had problems with front grip today. It effected my corner speed. I made the rear tire last until the end of the race but had to use the front too much and it means the lap-times did not come easy.”
Álex Rins (17th) – For sure, it was a physical race in terms of having to handle this heat. Already in yesterday’s Sprint I could feel it a bit, but today, after lap 7, I couldn’t handle it. My leg got burned. Anyway, looking at our level of performance and cornering, we did make a small step forward. But I was also giving it my 100% every lap, and with four laps to go, I lost the front in Turn 4, and after that it was a mess trying to manage it all. For sure, this is not the result we wanted. We will take all the information and try to improve.
Somkiat Chantra (18th) – “It was an incredible experience for me. The race was tough, but I focused on avoiding mistakes and doing my best. We need to keep learning and improving. Racing in front of my home crowd has been truly amazing.”
Pedro Acosta (19th) – “A tough day. A shame. We need to understand better what is going on because I had trouble stopping. After the crash trying to brake behind another rider my pace then was not too bad, the guys told me it might have been good enough for the top five. We have to move on and start again in Argentina. That’s it.”
Lorenzo Savadori (20th) – “We are happy because we see that the Aprilia bikes are competitive, especially on a historically difficult track. The RS-GP25s were fast both in the race and in the time attacks, which is definitely a positive sign. As for me, it’s obviously not easy to fine-tune the set-up during a race weekend, but we’ve made some progress and some interesting aspects have emerged that will also be useful for the development of the bike.”
Joan Mir (DNF) – “We were having a really good weekend and a really good race; I think that what we have shown up until the crash demonstrates the improvements that myself and Honda have made during the off season. I made a small mistake trying to chase down Jack and with the conditions I wasn’t able to save it. We were putting together a really great race after losing some positions right at the start. The bike was very hot, like it was for everyone, and we need to keep working a bit on this in future races with similar conditions. A shame to end like this because I think we had the potential to fight in the front of the group, around the top five. It’s something last year we did not feel, proving we are heading in the right direction. We have lived our hardest moment this weekend and now more will come.”
Raul Fernandez (DNF) – “I think tonight I won’t sleep too well but, it was one of my best races in MotoGP in terms of managing everything. The mistake that I made yesterday was forgotten and I prepared everything well today. The positive thing is that, in the first 15 laps, I was in a really good position and fighting very well. I did everything to prepare the last part of the race, but after 15 laps, when I was in seventh, I tried to catch Jack (Miller) and for some reason we had overheating in the front tire and from this moment on, the front tire didn’t work and I had to retire because I was 1.5 seconds slower. The good thing is, the bike is working very well, I feel really comfortable, but we have to understand why we had this kind of overheating because I was using the hard front and I wasn’t in the slipstream of other riders and after only two laps behind Jack when I tried to attack him. After that, I was almost alone. I don’t understand what happened, we need to analyze well and see what happens in Argentina.”
