MotoGP: Marquez reveals how warm-up session helped him win at the Balaton circuit

Having extended his winning streak to seven, six-time MotoGP champion Marc Márquez has revealed that the short warm-up session on Sunday morning helped him pick out the ideal tyre compound for the 26-lap Balaton race.

After a coming together with Marco Bezzecchi at the start, Márquez recovered to second place with 22 laps to go, before taking the lead on lap 11.

From then on, the Spaniard managed the gap until the chequered flag, eventually crossing the line with more than four seconds in hand over the runner-up, Pedro Acosta.

Reflecting on the start, Márquez said: “I was lucky not to crash after the coming together with Bezzecchi: I wasn’t expecting him to slow down that much at turn two and I ran into him.

“My mistake. I lost one position and from there my race had a new start: I stayed patient, knowing I had the medium tyre on my side. I got it up to the perfect temperature and then I started pushing.”

Pressed on why he elected to run the medium tyre, the Ducati rider revealed that the short warm-up session on Sunday morning showed him that he should opt against the soft tyres.

“The tyre choice really made the difference, as this morning I realised that with the medium I was able to lap at the same pace as the others on the soft. I knew that as the race went on, I’d be able to keep the same rhythm.”