Marc Marquez can see Honda’s most recent evolution of the RC213V 4 months after a 2019-2020 hybrid rushed after driving problems
While Marc Marquez no longer has to worry so much about the serious shoulder injury that left him in a fitness race a few days before the start of the 2020 MotoGP season, this weekend’s delay in the Spanish MotoGP remains a relative unknown to the protective champion. .
His shoulder complaints aside, Marquez struggled to find his form on the 2020 specification Honda RC213V with all three current-spec riders struggling for stability under braking and front-end through the corners.
As such, Honda temporarily assembled a “hybrid” merger of portions from 2019 and 2020 to verify Qatar’s last day, believing at the time that it had discovered a breakthrough.
Though the ensuing long break means Honda has had fair time to delve into the data, Marquez says it wasn’t enough to substitute physical data as he hit the track running during today’s pre-season one-day test.
Third quickest behind Maverick Vinales and Fabio Quartararo, though Marquez says there is still plenty of work to be done on the RC213V, he has praised his engineers for attempting to ‘fix the problem’.
“Right now, it’s an evolution [from 2019 to 2020]. It’s not exactly the same swinging arm, for example, it’s not the same engine. In Jerez, we have new pieces to check that we didn’t have time, however, maybe we’ll see Sherry I or Sherry II depending on the track and the condition
“[The engineers] did a few steps, but they are more than a few steps – they tried to fix the problem. There are more problems than we have in the winter time but the thing you need to improve the bike you need to ride and ride on a good lap time, pushing on the limit.
“The news is that the maximum drivers have the same problems, so they run over them and now we have to paint a lot in this domain because in 2021 we will have the same engine.”
As the 2020 crusade approaches, which is to win seven MotoGP world championship titles in just 8 seasons, Marquez says he is not absolutely above his shoulder problems, but says he is no longer afraid.
“Today I was especially concentrating on myself. First of all because in the winter time we suffer a lot on the technical and physical side. Today I was not worried but now I can breathe because on the physical side I feel fit. Of course, I feel something on the shoulder from where I’ve stopped practice but riding the bike is not a problem.”
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