‘Risk reduction’ Marc Marquez knows exactly why he ‘struggles’ ahead of Dutch GP qualifying shock.

However, the weekend started as disappointingly as Friday. Marquez managed only P10. Before putting in a much improved performance in practice to finish sixth in FP1.

Marquez endured another tough session on Saturday as his best lap time was only good enough for the Sprint and seventh in the main Grand Prix.

Meanwhile, Aprilia rider Jorge Martin confirmed the pole position Before Ai Ogura and Marco Bezzecchi.

Jorge Martin scores at the Dutch Grand Prix 🇳🇱 Who surprised you the most during qualifying?

Marc Márquez admits cycling is a ‘problem’ at the Dutch Grand Prix

Although it is surprising that Marquez can only keep his Ducati Seventh, the man says why he ‘struggled’ in Asen.

Speaking after Friday’s session, the 33-year-old admitted he was in ‘risk-minimisation mode’, saying the Asean track was ‘very dangerous’.

Marquez said he was having trouble with the Ducati bike’s handling, especially the amount of ‘inertial forces’ it was dealing with at high speeds.

He was predicted to be behind both Aprilia riders as well as Fabio Di Giannantonio, Francesco Bagnaia and Pedro Acosta.

According to a Spanish news outlet Make a markMarquez said: “I’m on ‘minimize the risk’ because for me, Ascen is one of those tracks that—even though it’s safe—it’s also very dangerous.”

“If you crash, you’re going at high speed, and gravel—I learned this the hard way last year—is made up of big, hard rocks that hurt a lot. I saw on Thursday that the running surfaces are the same; it’s a track that needs special attention.”

“It’s nothing new: I’ve struggled here before, and I’m struggling more this year, but we’ve reached our goal of top 10. It moves a lot and the problem is moving like that at 250km/h. There are too many inertial forces, that’s why I’m struggling more on this circuit.

“Here, the sixth or seventh. There’s Eprias, then you have Di Giannantonio, Bagnaia and Acosta; I’ll see if I can beat one of the three.”

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Read more: MotoGP qualifying results as Jorge Martin scores Dutch Grand Prix pole with Marc Marquez only P7

Heading into the weekend, Marquez has closed the gap and put himself into contention for the 2026 title. Bezechichi Just 40 points after back-to-back wins.

In fact, Marquez was given a huge advantage in the final. Bezecic was banned from the Czech Grand Prix Hitting the trackside marshal in the back.

With Bezecic coming into action at Assen, Marquez knows he will have a tough task ahead of him in the Sprint and the main Grand Prix to further reduce his points deficit.