Finding Jerez a tough track and happy to get such a good result in front of the home fans, Marquez said it was mission accomplished – with Catalunya marked as the point on the calendar to attack once more. Pushing, always – but inside the limit with one eye on the standings.

“First of all I’m happy to be here in second, normally here in Jerez is one of my most difficult tracks. " Siad the deffending champion "But this year I was really concentrated and able to push until the last two laps, when I said ‘ok, second place’."

"The rear tyre for me was working quite well, the first two or three laps it took time to warm up but my limitation was the front tyre…my riding style pushes a lot in braking. It was quite difficult, but I’m happy to be here on the podium, four points behind the points leader…we’ll see in Le Mans, tomorrow we also have an important test here." He added

"After Argentina, Austin was a great weekend…and here I knew it was one of the most important weekends of the year. I’m proud of my team and my level in this circuit. Today the mentality was to push – but inside the limit! After Argentina we looked lost, Yamaha looked unbeatable…maybe in Le Mans it will reversed again! We will see. Our target was to be in these positions until Catalunya, because these aren’t my favourite races.”