Marc Marquez is going into the 2020 MotoGP season at last confident that the worst of Honda’s torrid times since the end of last season is behind him, firmly believing time off and the miraculous work completed in the final hour of pre-season testing at Qatar all the way back in March have fixed his woes.
One of the riders most aided by the coronavirus-induced delays to the season, Marquez had looked set to start the season at a significant disadvantage thanks to a difficult-to-ride RC213V and the injuries he was still carrying.
Recovering from his second shoulder operation in as many winter breaks, the Spaniard looked downright uncomfortable at both Sepang and Losail, unable to ride the bike in his aggressive style and unable to make the kind of incredible crash saves that have become his trademark.
There was plenty of need to as well, as he and compatriots Alex Marquez and Cal Crutchlow failed to get to grips with Honda’s latest bike at all. All this hinted at a potential repeat of 2015, when bike woes allowed Jorge Lorenzo to become the first and only person to beat Marquez to a MotoGP title.
However, ripping the new 2020 aerodynamic package off the bike and reverting to last year’s, combined with time for Marquez to heal fully from his injuries while stuck at home, will spell ominous news for his rivals as the championship gets underway.
Speaking in today’s pre-event press conference, Marquez admitted that yesterday’s three hours of track time at Jerez confirmed that all his and Honda’s issues are well and truly behind them.
“Yesterday was an important day, firstly to get back on a MotoGP bike again and then because on the pre-season I had a few doubts – a few doubts about the technical side, a few doubts about my physical condition, but yesterday everything was fixed,” Marquez said.
“About physical condition, I am completely freed, I can ride like I want again, on the pre-season I was struggling a lot.
“On the technical side, we made a big step in the final hour at Qatar – but we couldn’t be sure that it wasn’t track conditions or the set-up of the bike.
“Yesterday we re-confirmed that the feeling of 2019 came back, it was really important for our box. Now is time to work, because now we need to retry all the things that we try on the winter test, all the new items.”
Some rivals will hope that that delay in finding an ideal bike set-up as Marquez and Honda chased their tails in testing will give them an advantage come this weekend though, with the Yamahas of Maverick Viñales and Fabio Quartararo going into the weekend fully expecting to challenge Marquez for Sunday’s win.
