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Dominant Jerez win perfect response after Austin crash - Marc Marquez

Honda rider Marc Marquez says the dominant manner of his victory at Jerez was a way of proving to his rivals that his confidence hadn't been knocked by his Austin crash.

Marquez fell from a comfortable lead at the Circuit of the Americas, marking the first time he had been defeated at the venue.

But Marquez bounced back in style at Jerez, taking the lead at the first corner and controlling the 25-lap race, re-claiming the advantage in the championship.

The reigning champion revealed that he intentionally set out to control the grand prix from the outset in order to prove a point, rather than wait for the race to come to him given his superior used-tyre pace.

"I'm happy to win this race, and especially happy to do it in this way, because this was the target," Marquez said.

"[It] was the intention, because after the mistake in Austin I said I would like to arrive at Jerez and try to win in the same way, and we did it.

"After the Austin crash I saw many people [said] 'oh, his weak point, ah, he crashed, blah blah', but I just don't care.

"I had the confidence and I know what happened in Austin, we understood [what happened], this was a big help.

"And my way today was just to go out and try to be from the beginning until the end in the front, because then you show to the people, to the opponents, that I'm the same Marc, [with the] same confidence, and [that] this year I feel good."

Marquez admitted he adopted a cautious approach during the early stages of the race as he withstood initial pressure from Petronas Yamaha duo Franco Morbidelli and Fabio Quartararo.

Marquez eventually pulled clear as Morbidelli's pace dropped off and Quartararo retired due to a mechanical failure, leaving the Honda rider with a comfortable buffer over Suzuki's Alex Rins.

"I was patient as in the first laps I didn't feel that [strong] feeling, so I waited," he said.

"I was going wide a little bit the corners, maybe due to the full tank, maybe due to the track conditions.

"But when the tyres started to drop and I started to slide more the bike and the fuel tank was less [full], then I started to feel like I did in practice, I started to attack but [while still] under control.

"I saw that Fabio was coming, then [Alex] Rins, and yeah, on lap 15 I just attacked one [more] time, because then you show to the opponents [that you can go faster]."

Zdroj: autosport.com