Reigning MotoGP world champion Marc Marquez has admitted that the Losail Circuit isn’t best suited to his aggressive riding style, but thinks the level reached with the RC213V during testing will have him fighting for the podium.
The Honda rider has endured a busy pre-season. A new ‘big-bang’ engine introduced by HRC caused several headaches in Malaysia and Australia, but the Japanese marque made good strides with it in Qatar.
Though he doesn’t think the RC213V is quite perfect yet, Marquez is convinced Honda are in a far better position to where they were at this stage 12 months ago.
“The first race of the season is always a special one, because you’re a bit more nervous thank usual,” he said.
“From a technical point of view, we’re starting this championship better than the last one.
“Although that doesn’t automatically mean that the results will be better, I think our machine has reached a level to fight for the podium.”
Despite the 5.4km Losail being a track that doesn’t allow him to exploit his riding style to its full potential, Marquez’s record here is an impressive one.
He has two wins to his credit, one in the premier class in 2014 and the other in his final Moto2 campaign in 2012. He backed these up with podium finishes last season, 2013 and in 2010.
Marquez suffered a fairly bruising final test last week, the Spaniard coming off his bike three times on the final day. This meant he was only 10th on the combined times.
However, this has proven to be of little concern as his long run form has been excellent, and he feels the bike has a strong base set-up to work from.
“Maybe it’s not the best track for my riding style, but I like it and we have worked very hard during the pre-season to find a good rhythm and a good base set-up for all circuits.”
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