After a difficult Italian GP on and off the track, Marc Marquez and Pol Espargaro are looking to get back to work and back to where they know they can be.
The Circuit de Barcelona-Montmelo will host round seven of the 2021 MotoGP World Championship, the Barcelona track a mainstay of the Grand Prix calendar. 2021 presents a revised layout around Turn 10 for riders to now master, the changes made to improve safety. The 24-lap MotoGP race on Sunday is sure to be another thrilling affair as the season continues to rapidly progress.
For the first time since returning from injury, Marc Marquez will race on back-to-back weekends. This presents a unique test for his physical condition and the eight-time World Champion is ready to take the weekend as it comes. Throughout his premier class career, Marquez has twice won the Catalan GP and only missed the podium on one occasion – in 2015 when he fell while battling for the lead. Marquez’s objective for the weekend remains the same as he looks to improve both himself and the Repsol Honda Team RC213V over the course of the Grand Prix.
The Montmelo circuit is a true home race for Granollers-native Pol Espargaro, his hometown less than ten kilometres from the track. After a compromised race in Mugello, Espargaro is aiming to put together a trouble free and consistent weekend on home soil. Flashes of progress, such as in Free Practice 3 in Italy, have the #44 optimistic for what the future holds. Espargaro has finished inside the top-ten at the Catalan GP on three occasions in the premier class after winning the 2013 Moto2 race.
Marc Marquez
“Although our last race was not good, overall Mugello was a weekend with some positives for us as it was quite consistent. We know where we are, we know where we want to go and we will keep following the correct steps week by week. In Montmelo it seems that there will be some fans in the grandstands again, the fans give a great atmosphere, and it will be very nice to see some people in the stands again at the home GP.”
Pol Espargaro
“After a difficult race, sometimes the best thing is a race the very next week. We need to keep moving, this is MotoGP and we return to action again. We approach this new weekend the same way as the previous; with our full focus and the goal to improve. In Mugello we found some things which will help us moving forward. Your home race is always special, even if all the fans can’t join us again this year. Montmelo is really special for me, growing up so close to it and being where I made my World Championship debut in 2006, it’s something you can’t describe racing here. We keep working, we keep improving, we keep moving.”