Honda start 2022 MotoGP season with new RC213V: Marc Marquez and Pol Espargaro aim to fight at the front at Qatar opener
After two disappointing years, Honda must be counted among the favourites again in the 2022 MotoGP season (HRC test rider Stefan Bradl sees Marc Marquez as the favourite). Spearhead Marc Marquez is almost completely fit again after the injury misfortune of the past years and has a competitive motorbike with the fundamentally revised Honda RC213V. But team-mate Pol Espargaro should also be taken into account.
“My motivation is huge after what I’ve been through,” commented Marc Marquez ahead of the first race weekend of the 2022 MotoGP season. “There are difficult times behind us. Now it’s about having fun again.”
“But it’s not just about enjoying riding again. I also want to enjoy the competition and the battles at the top again,” notes the Spaniard, who is now one of the most experienced field in MotoGP. The generation of Valentino Rossi, Jorge Lorenzo and Dani Pedrosa is almost completely retired.
Marc Marquez now one of the veterans
“It’s my tenth season in MotoGP and I’m now one of the riders with the most experience in this class,” Marquez acknowledges. “There are many new challengers, but the goal remains the same: I want to fight for the World Championship title. “
“We have a new bike and we still have to find out how it behaves in Qatar. But we have a good base and I am looking forward to the weekend and getting back to racing. It will be my first Qatar weekend since 2019, but I’m ready,” said the former champion.
Does Pol Espargaro cause any surprises in the new season?
Team-mate Pol Espargaro is about to start his second season as a Honda factory rider and attracted attention with strong lap times in the winter tests. The new concept of the Honda, which has been extensively rebuilt for 2022, harmonises better with the riding style of the former Moto2 World Champion. In addition, Espargaro has adapted his training and knows the workflows at Honda better.
“After the good test I am of course looking forward to the new season,” explained Espargaro. “I trained to the maximum in the winter to be as physically prepared as possible. We are in a completely different situation to twelve months ago.”
“I know Honda, I know my team and even though the RC213V is new, I understand the bike better and better,” reports Espargaro, who was the fastest rider at the final test in Indonesia.
“We had a good preparation for the season, but when it starts it’s a different story. In Qatar we want to lay the foundations and then improve every weekend. I want to fight at the front every weekend,” said the former KTM rider.
