The eight-time world champion brushed off a crash in qualifying which left him eighth on the grid to battle his way to second in Saturday’s 12-lap sprint at the Algarve International Circuit.
Snatching the position away from Pramac’s Jorge Martin on the last lap, it marked Marquez’s first podium on the Ducati in just his second weekend on the bike.
“I did a big mistake on that qualifying practice, which led me to start on that third row, and it was easy to be on that second row,” said Marquez.
“Starting on that third row penalises a lot. But today we were able to be fast, we have the speed and this is the most important thing from the weekend, that we have more speed than in Qatar.
“This is helping me to overtake and be more constant.”
He added: “The most important thing this weekend is that I have speed, regardless of what happens tomorrow. I can overtake and that's another story.”
Marquez’s qualifying crash came at the start of Q2 and resulted in a fast trip through the gravel at the downhill Turn 15.
The Spaniard explained that the crash happened because he engaged his rear ride height device too early, which led to his Ducati bottoming out on its forks and send him down.
Source: Autosport