Alex Marquez, younger brother to four-time MotoGP champion Marc, ended two days of testing with the Marc VDS team at Jerez pleased with the progress he made and grateful for the experience.
Triple Moto2 race winner Marquez joined team-mate Franco Morbidelli – who will make his MotoGP debut with Marc VDS next year – at Jerez for two final days of testing in 2017 ahead of the winter shutdown.
With Morbidelli‘s MotoGP team-mate for 2018 Tom Luthi unable to ride until the Sepang test next year due to an ankle injury, Marquez was drafted in to allow the Swiss rider’s new technical team to get to grips with the bike for when testing resumes in January.
Focusing on adjusting to the RC213V and improving acceleration, Marquez made a gain in laptime of nearly two seconds on Thursday to finish eight tenths shy of Morbidelli on the timesheets with a 1m39.782s in 17th.
Marquez hopes the work he did over the two days with Luthi‘s mechanics will allow the Swiss rider to hit the ground running in testing next year.
“Yesterday was the first opportunity to try the bike and to get to know the team, whereas today was more like a proper test,” the Spaniard, who last rode a MotoGP bike for a handful of laps in 2014, said.
“I enjoyed riding the bike today and we made a big step with the wheelie issue I had yesterday.
“It was much better in the turns, but I still had the problem on the straights because I was riding them in a straight line like on the Moto2 bike.
“If you look at Marc and Dani, or in fact all the MotoGP riders, they ride on the straights in a different way.
“I enjoyed the two days here in Jerez and I’m happy to have had this experience.
“I hope I’ve helped the team and that Tom will have it a little bit easier now when he returns from injury in Sepang.
“Now my focus is back on Moto2 and making sure I prepare fully for the 2018 season during the winter break.”
2017 MotoGP runner-up Andrea Dovizioso topped the second day of testing at Jerez – which has seen both grand prix and World Superbike teams share the track – with a record lap of 1m37.663s.
Aruba.it Ducati’s Marco Melandri was fastest of the Superbike crop in 15th overall, two seconds off of Dovizioso‘s outright pace.
