Marc Marquez distinctly unimpressed with Honda 'improvements'

MotoGP Valencia Test

Focus on Honda

Conspicuous in their absence from the top 10 are Honda. Of their four riders, Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) was the best placed in 12th, and initial murmurs from the HRC camp weren’t the most optimistic.

Marquez tested different chassis, exhausts, intakes, a seat, a tail unit and a carbon clutch, but said he wants to see much more improvement at the Sepang test and that they need much more from the bike in order to be competitive, and despite lots of new components the same problems that have been plaguing them all season remain.

Completing 50 laps, Marc Marquez split his time across a number of RC213V machines to determine the direction HRC’s engineers need to follow over the winter. Assessing a number of parts and components for the RC213V, flying laps were not the main focus as the #93 ended the day with the 13th quickest time, a 1’30.676. But in post test interviews stated, “with this bike we can’t fight for the championship.”

Marc Marquez – P13

“It was an important day today. I tried everything I had to try today and we were really focused to finish what we needed to do for Honda, there was no need to put a new tyre and go for a time attack.

“I was hoping for a little more but we gathered a lot of information and were able to share a lot of feedback with all the engineers inside the garage. It’s good to see that Honda is working and has been able to bring some more parts here and I am already looking forward to seeing what they bring to Malaysia.

“Now we will enjoy a very short holiday before we begin preparing for 2023 because I need to stay focused and consistent to be as fit and ready as possible.”

Joan Mir (Repsol Honda Team), and race winner only two days earlier Alex Rins (LCR Honda Castrol), both ex-Suzuki riders had their RC213V debuts and they immediately got to work, testing the chassis, intakes, exhausts, tail unit, Kalex swingarm between them. They finished P18 and P20 respectively.

Alex Rins - Race winner on Sunday with Suzuki, P20 with Honda on Tuesday.... — Alex Rins – Race winner on Sunday with Suzuki, P20 with Honda on Tuesday….

Takaaki Nakagami worked through a busy schedule as he tested parts ahead of the new season and will now fly back to Japan for further surgery to ensure he right hand is in peak condition for 2023.

Takaaki Nakagami – P19

“It’s been a long day, we did quite a lot of laps straight from the morning session. We actually tested some different packages and different chassis and focused on the electronic side. The team did a really great job from the weekend and also in today’s test, so yeah, I’m quite happy about today’s performance. So now, the 2022 season is over and I’m going back to Japan to have another surgery on my right hand to be ready and recover for the first test of 2023 in Malaysia.”