MotoGP championship leader Marc Marquez believes “nobody will remember” his last-corner Austrian Grand Prix defeat to Andrea Dovizioso if he goes on to secure the 2019 riders’ title.
Dovizioso’s lunge to snatch Sunday’s win at the death denied Marquez what would have been a first-ever triumph at the Red Bull Ring, where he has now lost three successive last-lap MotoGP battles.
The Austrian venue therefore remains the only circuit where Marquez has raced but not won in the premier class, but when asked by Autosport whether this was a factor in his approach for the 2019 race, Marquez dismissed the statistic’s significance.
“Of course I have a winning mentality, and I try to approach with the goal to try to win the race,” Marquez said.
“This weekend we worked very, very strongly, because we knew Dovi was at one of his best circuits, and we tried until the end.
“But I learned already a few years ago, if you win the championship at the end of the season, nobody will remember this race, until we come back here next year.”
Marquez’s Austrian GP defeat came after he had taken pole position by over four tenths of a second on Saturday, surpassing previous premier-class record holder Mick Doohan with a landmark 59th pole.
Despite his defeat, Marquez still holds a 58-point lead over nearest rival Dovizioso with eight races left in the campaign, and stressed that his Red Bull Ring performance was ultimately good for his title ambitions.
“It’s an important podium for the world championship, it is a track where we have never won, but second again – and aside from the Austin crash, second place is our worst result this year,” said Marquez.
He also felt the exciting duel with Dovizioso had been a positive for MotoGP, having won what had been a largely processional race at Brno the week before.
“Of course it stings, and more so for a winner [like myself], but I already warned [on Saturday] that Dovizioso was very close,” said Marquez.
“It was a good race for the show after the one last week that everyone said was very boring.”