Marc Marquez shines in 125 qualifying for Donington

2008-06-21 12:36
Spanish teenager Marc Marquez was the great surprise on the dry first practice day in the 125 cc category at Donington Park where KTM's racing department have now supplied all seven riders with the latest chassis.

Unimpressed by the fierce competition of his older and more experienced competitors, the 15-year-old Repsol KTM rider set the early pace in Friday afternoon's first qualifying and topped the time sheets for a while. Marquez concluded the day in an impressive eighth position, a result that still stands after Saturday's wet final practice that left the positions for tomorrow's starting grid unchanged.

Marquez will start ahead of three more KTM riders, Pablo Nieto (Onde 2000 KTM) in ninth, Tomoyoshi Koyama (ISPA KTM Aran) in tenth and Nieto's team-mate Raffaele de Rosa in eleventh position. Red Bull KTM 125 rider Randy Krummenacher also found the speed to battle within the top runners. But he fell twice in the only dry qualifying session and had to settle for nineteenth place on the grid.

What the KTM 125 riders said
Marc Marquez (Repsol KTM 125 - twenty first in 1:54.979 (eighth overall in 1:38.044)
"I like this circuit a lot, and I also like the new KTM chassis. I had my first chance to try this chassis when my team-mate Esteve Rabat had his unfortunate crash two weeks ago and the weekend here confirms how good it is. More than anything, it helps me to get into the turns easier and I can ride harder without taking as many risks. Today in the wet, the bike gave me similar sensations and the same sort of confidence as in the dry. But in the morning, I crashed because I started to push when the tyres were still a little bit too cold, and in the afternoon, I made another mistake and crashed again. Now I am looking forward to the race. My aim is to get a good start and to stay with the leading group. If this doesn't happen, I will still try to ride as close to the front as possible and to keep learning!"

Randy Krummenacher (Red Bull KTM 125 - seventeenth in 1:54.745 (nineteenth overall in 1:38.856)
"The new chassis works great. The motorcycle obeys me now and I can ride and play with it exactly the way I like. It's in fact so good that I feel really challenged to extend my limits as a rider; before I was sometimes limited by the behaviour of the bike. The advantages are the same no matter if the track is dry or wet so I am happy. My only set-backs were my two falls in yesterday's dry qualifying session. I had a problem with the brake and lost the front in the first crash. On the second I just pushed too hard and was over the limit. If we have dry conditions tomorrow, we still have to fine-tune our set-up a little bit. If it's wet, I will make sure to stay calm and controlled and just to ride my own race aiming for a good result!"

Harald Bartol (Technical Director)
"I am very pleased with our progress in the 125 cc category and the fact that all our riders like the new chassis. The next step will be to concentrate on the engines and to deliver another performance boost. The performance of Marc Marquez was a surprise to many people, but not so much to me. I know him from last year and his talent is the reason we gave him his chance, first in the Spanish championship, and now here. What impresses me most is his attitude - he is not afraid of big names, he learns very quickly, and he is a genuinely nice guy. I believe he has a great future ahead of him!"

Source: KTM-Sportmotorcycle AG

Click here to visit our forums to discuss this story