I like Motegi. I always enjoy coming back here: the Japanese fans are truly special, the atmosphere is incredible, and we did pretty well here last year.

And this year, the Japanese fans even dedicated an entire grandstand to me. That was something really incredible.

The goal was simple: to keep building on the work we’ve been doing.

We started well on Friday. On Saturday, though, the Sprint didn’t go our way because of a decision I take responsibility for: the rear tyre choice.

We had a plan. I’d been fast on the medium rear in the morning, so we decided to take a gamble and use it in the race. It didn’t pay off. I never managed to find the pace I wanted and finished sixth.

It wasn’t enough. We weren’t happy.

But Sunday was another chance.

I got a good start, had a strong pace, and the race was going in the right direction. Then, in the final laps, Enea came charging. Like a man possessed, as I said in the interviews.

He was incredibly fast, putting in one quick lap after another and getting closer and closer. But I also managed to improve towards the end and find something extra. Keeping him behind wasn’t easy. It was a great battle, right to the very end. But I managed to hold him off.

Third place. Podium.

I gave everything I had, and I believe I brought home the best possible result. A podium I really had to fight for. And maybe that’s what made it even more special.

I wanted it badly.

I wanted to bounce back after the Sprint, but more than anything, I wanted to dedicate this result to someone dear to me who passed away in the past few days.

I’m happy I managed to do that. It was my way of being close, even from the other side of the world.

Since coming back from injury, I’ve had to work day after day to get back to my level and keep improving. Jorge and Marc have a little something extra at the moment. I don’t think I’ve lost any of the explosiveness I had at the beginning of the year. They’ve simply made progress too, they’ve become faster, and you have to acknowledge that.

Now it’s up to me to close that gap, get closer to them, and make sure I’m ready to take every opportunity that comes my way.

The championship is tough. We know that.

But I have absolutely no intention of giving up.

— Marco