Box Confidential: Marc arrives at Le Mans in its purest form

THE KILLER: Marc in his purest form

“It’s a beast race, the only one of its kind…” This is what I was thinking while listening to Marc Márquez at the press conference at the end of the day. Just a few minutes ago, when he crashed violently on the last lap of P2, I said to myself: “But why is he doing this, what’s the point!”… He won’t stop until he finishes. damage, more damage. Marc is already in the top ten starting tomorrow in Q2, but… Read his remarks, and you will see what his approach on that lap led him to suffer in his second race of the day. A hard fall that caused him and his bike to do some wild flips before finally landing on the gravel. A risk he took in returning from an injury due to another similar excess, which kept him in dry dock for two months. But while he was talking I couldn’t help but ‘forgive’ him. Seeing the determination and force with which he explains why he does what he does, why he acts the way he acts, it is impossible not to come to the understanding, and admit, that when Marc Márquez wears overalls, the person enables a pilot in extreme conditions. purely… What a person!

KTM OR APRILIA: What annoys Gigi Dall’Igna more?

Jack Miller and his KTM finished at the top of the table today at Le Mans; Aleix Espargaró and his Aprilia qualified behind the Australian, immediately ahead of the first Ducati, that of Marco Bezzecchi. Which of the two defeats will hurt Gigi Dall’Igna more, the most powerful Reparto Corse director of the Borgo Panigale brand? That an Italianized KTM based on the engineers of his time won him over, or that Aprilia, his lifelong brand, he abandoned to join the ranks of his biggest rivals? It’s a question full of irony and a bit of ill will, yes, but very well brought. At KTM there are former Ducatistas at all levels. Leading the project, Fabiano Sterlacchini, Dall’Igna’s right-hand man, who he knows has worked in all departments of Reparto Corse and collaborated in the design of his working method; In charge of the team box is Francesco Guidotti, for the people team manager of PRAMC, the Ducati team in MotoGP; At the end of last season, the Austrians hired Alberto Giribuola, the track engineer for whom Andrea Dovizioso was runner-up three times in the world and who was behind Bastianini’s miracle last year. Among these engineers, join Jack Miller, a Ducati rider last year, and… what a team KTM has ‘raised’ Ducati!

AUGUSTO OR PEDRO?: The troubles of Hervé Poncharal.

The manager of the GasGas team admitted on Thursday to a French colleague his concern about the situation coming between Augusto Fernández and Pedro Acosta, the former his current driver, the latter aspiring to join the team next season. In the KTM planet of MotoGP, Brad Binder, Jack Miller and Pol Espargaró have signed agreements until the end of 2024; Augusto’s relationship will expire at the end of the season, with KTM having the right to renew him for a year if he so chooses. On the other hand, the agreement with Pedro Costa is similar to that of Augusto, but its continuation depends on KTM moving up to MotoGP. Should this not be done, Acosta is free to sign for any team in the premier class. This is how things are ahead of this weekend’s visit to Le Mans by the KTM dome, with its president Pierer and KTM’s ‘T’, Trunkenpolz, at the helm. One of the issues on the agenda was what to do with Augusto and Pedro. Both follow what is expected of them,” said Poncharal. “This is a topic that disturbs me.” Meanwhile, from Acosta’s side they shrugged. “In the summer we will decide if we go to MotoGP, but if progress continues as it has so far, we will make the leap. From there, the ball is in KTM’s court.”… One motorcycle: two riders.