While the Ducatis continue to fly low at this start of 2023 –in the three days of pre-season tests, seven Desmosedici in the top 9 of the times–, at Honda, as well as at Yamaha, they are beginning to worry about their new mounts. “This is a disaster”, revealed Fabio Quartararo with his M1, which left him 17th of the 24 drivers. Truly a disaster for the runner-up. Although it was not much better for Marc Márquez, 10th, 7 tenths behind Luca Marini, and not very optimistic feelings: the new Honda does not convince him.
Without the acrimony of the Frenchman, the multi-time Catalan champion slipped, after the three tests in Sepang, his dissatisfaction with the performance of the RC213V. “We started with four motorcycles; the second day, three. Today we had two, and in the afternoon I was left with only one. But this is not the bike I need to start the World Championship; but I need a step forward from that bike”, said 93 with a serious face.
He has no reason to smile, except for his good physical condition, the best news of these three days, in which his right arm, operated on four times, seemed fully recovered. “I am happier with my physique than with the bike. Body there is only one; but motorcycles, we may have another four in Portugal”, the man from Cervera released with a touch of irony.
Despite holding back in his assessments – "I will evaluate the bike on the last day of the Portimão test, but at the moment we are far from those above," Márquez excused – the Repsol Honda rider does not hide his dissatisfaction with the new bike. First, for having had to dedicate the three days of testing to testing "many things", to provide information to the new HRC technical director, Ken Kawauchi.
“He wants to understand a lot of things at the concept level, and that makes life very difficult for pilots. Now I hope they analyze all that information and bring something new to Portugal”, fired 93, who discarded three of the four motorcycles that took him.
Secondly, Marc's discomfort is due to the fact that, after discarding and "taking the direction similar to that of the Valencia tests", the bike presents the same problems. "And now it's time to solve these problems, although I don't know how," admitted the Catalan, hoping for some technical contribution from the Asaka factory. "We need more, but I have noticed a reaction," he was hopeful.
Asked about the deficiencies of his new bike, Márquez did not hide: “We have the same problems as last year. The top speed isn't bad, but it took us too long to get there, and that's a matter of traction. In Europe, with short straights, it will be difficult for us. And in high speed braking we also need to stop the bike better to be more constant”, he described.
Thus, only during the braking of the first corner of Sepang, his Honda lost "one tenth and a half or two compared to the Ducati", detailed Márquez, who sent a realistic message: "We have to improve, because we are about to enter the top five first but very fair”.
"We have to improve many, many things," admitted the team boss, Alberto Puig. He has reason to worry: the Hondas finished the first test in 10th (Márquez), 12th (Mir), 19th (Rins) and 21st (Nakagami) positions.
The MotoGP preseason will continue with the second and last tests, on March 11-12 in Portimão, two weeks before the start of the 2023 World Championship at the Portuguese GP. It will be the last cartridge for Márquez and Honda to approach the Ducatis, which have extended their authority from 2022.
As seen in the three days of testing at Sepang, only the Aprilias (Viñales, 3rd; Aleix Espargaró, 6th) seem capable of coping with the dominance of the Borgo Panigale machines.
