After a crash in the Sprint Race, Marc Marquez is targeting a third-place finish in the Grand Prix.
Marc Marquez started the Saturday Sprint Race from third place and later inherited second place after Jorge Martin was handed a long-lap penalty.
However, whilst running in second place Marquez tried to catch Francesco Bagnaia. This would end up being a crucial mistake for Marquez. The Spaniard ended up crashing out of the race at Turn Three.
After the race, Marquez admitted to his mistake and set a more realistic target for himself and his Ducati GP23 for the main Grand Prix.
"Yeah, it is a difficult one to accept," Marc Marquez said after the Sprint Race. "But I am happy about Saturday, the performance was there. I know what the mistake was.
"I said in Parc Ferme that I was half a step behind the top guys. In the Sprint Race, I took too many risks I felt like I was able to catch Pecco in the last laps because I felt super good with the bike.
"Let's be more calm for tomorrow and if everything is ok and we are on the pace, third place on the podium will be the target."
Marquez stated that because of how good he felt on his bike with used tyres he thought he would be able to go with Bagnaia.
"I felt good and I knew the last laps of the Sprint Race would be my strong point because with the used tyre I feel better than with the new one.
"So I tried to manage the situation in the beginning, and then when I started my attack, I was on a good pace, but I made a mistake in turn three. It had been a very solid weekend, but I made a mistake in the worst possible moment."
After missing out on crucial Championship points due to his crash Marquez has set more realistic expectations for himself in the 28-lap Grand Prix.
"I have said all weekend that they are half a step in front of us," Marquez concluded before adding, "Today I tried to recover that half a step and I took too much risk. So tomorrow the target is to try to be in third place and finish the race."
