Marc Marquez admits he can’t yet use the full potential of the 2022 Honda, but that’s not down to his physical condition – Pol Espargaro solid
Marc Marquez just a few thousandths of a second off the day’s fastest time in P2, Pol Espargaro also in the top 10: For the Honda factory team, the first day of practice of the 2022 MotoGP season went very promisingly. The fundamentally new concept followed for this year’s RC213V seems to be paying off.
At the Losail International Circuit, the traditional venue for the Qatar Grand Prix, Marquez was just 0.035 seconds off Suzuki rider Alex Rins’ best time on Friday night. Is that in line with expectations, considering Marquez has only won once at Losail to date (2014)
“A little bit yes, a little bit no,” says Marquez, admitting that the pace was about what he expected, but that for him “on the one fast lap it went better than expected”. The goal at first was just to get into the top 10 to lay the groundwork for a direct Q2 entry. “Second position is better than expected but it probably doesn’t match my pace for the race,” he said.
On a positive note, Marquez notes on Friday night, “My physical condition was not a problem in any way.” Still, he admits he can’t yet ride the fundamentally new Honda the way he imagines – or rather, the way he’s used to riding the previous models.
“I’m still riding in a strange way, but the lap time is coming,” Marquez said. “I used to be really fast on corner entry. Now I’m not very fast in that area. I have no feeling for the front wheel. Honestly, it feels like a slow lap. Then when I try to go faster, I’m slower.”
“I haven’t managed to use the full potential of this bike yet,” Marquez confesses, but at the same time praises Honda for the radical move over winter: “I think the only manufacturer that can change so much from one year to the next is Honda. And I mean that in a positive sense. “
Pol Espargaro can’t convert final attack
Pol Espargaro, who shows up in P9 in the combined result of the two Friday practices, would be qualified for direct Q2 entry just like Marquez as things stand. The chances that it will stay that way are good. Because Saturday’s FT3 will take place in daylight and will therefore have a similarly low significance as Friday’s FT1.
“I had a good feeling today, especially considering that I don’t normally do so well on this track,” said Espargaro, who set his personal fastest lap time of 1’53.963 on the first fresh tyre in the evening. “With the second tyre we had some problems. I couldn’t go to the limit. But the time with the first one was good enough for the top 10 and it’s a significant improvement on last year. “
“Back then I had to push incredibly to be able to do such a time,” Espargaro thinks back a year and how he struggled with the characteristics of the 2021 RC213V as a Honda newcomer. Just like Marquez, Espargaro praises the efforts made in-house at Honda to design and build the 2022 bike. “The team’s work over the winter is now paying off,” he says.
While the two factory Honda riders both finished in the top 10 on Friday, LCR Honda’s Takaaki Nakagami and Alex Marquez did not. Nakagami lined up in P12, the young Marquez only in P16 after two crashes in the evening.
