“We need more to fight for championship,” Marc Marquez expresses his concerns after the Valencia MotoGP test
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Marc Marquez testing the 2023 Honda bike
With the 2022 MotoGP season coming to and end at at Valencia GP, the on track action wasn’t over yet. Marc Marquez along with other riders took part in the post season test at Valencia where he got his hands on the 2023 Honda. However, it didn’t seem to be a great experience for the Spaniard testing the new machinery as he didn’t have any nice words to say about it.
Having missed out on most of the 2022 season due to a surgery on his hand and the recovery time that came with it, Marc Marquez still managed to finish the season 13th overall. What was disappointing is that he was still the highest placed Honda rider which showed how bad the season went for the Japanese Manufacturer. He was hoping that an improvement would be made with the upcoming 2023 bike.
When the Repsol Honda rider took the reigns of the 2023 prototype on Tuesday’s test, he was utterly disappointed with the lack of improvement. The Spaniard was adamant that he wouldn’t be able to challenge for a 7th MotoGP crown next year unless Honda make any substantial changes to improve the bike. Here are his comments after testing the 2023 bike at Valencia on Tuesday.
Marc Marquez not at all happy with Honda’s development
Here is what the rider had to say about the whole test and the bike. “We tried a proto-bike with new aerodynamics and the same engine with a small modification, a different chassis. That’s it,” he explained.“There is not a big difference. A bit. But we lose it in a different area, it’s a compromise. In the end, the performance was very similar,” he said.
“Of course I expected more but it isn’t there. The important thing is that Honda is working. I expect a big step in February at the next test. I expected more because always you want more and more. I cannot say that I’m disappointed because Honda are working, they are trying. But we need more if we want to fight for the championship. Or we will not fight for the championship,” he continued.
“We improve one area, we lose in another one. More or less the same problems.
We have to work this winter if we want to fight for the title. You don’t have to take one step, you have to take two,” he concluded.
Marc Marquez will be partnered up with Joan Mir for next year as he shifts from
Suzuki who have now exited the sport after the 2022 season. It is an interesting pairing to say the least. The next time that the riders will get to test the bike will be in February at Sepang. Till then, the team will have a chance to figure out and make the required changes to better suit both the riders.
Read More: “I don’t agree with that,” Fabio Quartararo against reduction of test days for the 2023 season
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Varad Joshi
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