Marc Marquez is only beaten by Luca Marini on the second MotoGP test day in Mandalika (Indonesia): Why the Honda star doesn’t care about lap times at the moment
The Repsol Honda team continues its intensive work with the radically changed RC213V on the second MotoGP test day in Mandalika (Indonesia). Marc Marquez in second and Pol Espargaro in eighth made it into the top 10 in the day’s standings.
“But I don’t care about that at the moment,” Marquez waves it off. Because for the superstar of the scene, one thing is important above all on his return after injuring an eye nerve: building up a good feeling for the new MotoGP bike from Honda.
And here the eight-time world champion exudes confidence. “I have already said that I am now starting to feel the bike again. Today we made another step forward,” Marquez enthused after his fourth day of testing on the new bike.
MotoGP Honda to adapt to Marc Marquez
“In Malaysia I just rode. I just sat on the bike. But after Malaysia I said: I have to adapt the bike more to me. That’s what we’re doing here,” Marquez revealed his plan for the current test. “In Malaysia we just wanted to ride and understand everything after coming back there after the long break. “
But the process of adapting the bike to Marquez’s riding style could still take time. The old Honda was a bike perfectly adapted to the Spaniard’s needs. Over the winter, however, they worked in Japan to find more grip on the rear wheel.
While this makes the RC213V easier for other riders to ride, it also eliminates to some extent the strengths of Marquez’s riding style. This was made clear by the two crashes on the first day in Sepang. In the meantime he says: “I feel the bike better, that’s important. “
Repsol Honda teammate Pol Espargaro is even more optimistic: “The bike is responding better day by day and after two days here it already feels like it is ready for Qatar. On one lap we still have minor problems with the front brake, but if we had got all our sector best times together we would be second.” So Honda should not be written off for the Qatar opener by any means.
