Marc Marquez “There is never too much power. The more you have, the better”

In a very interesting interview carried out by the excellent Manuel Pecino, he spoke with Marc Marquez about his start to the season and the RC213V, among other things. Here are some extracts from this article, which we encourage you to read in full, in Spanish or English.

“Last season the problems we encountered were combined with the arrival of new tires and the obligatory adaptation to Michelins. And in these kinds of situations, I have a certain advantage. I easily adapt to new things and improvise during GPs, and that has helped me. This year everyone knows tires, everyone understands them and all manufacturers have everything much more under control

“It is true that with this new engine, there is something that escapes us. It is also true that when we manage to configure it correctly, it works well, very well. We still lack acceleration, but it works better. It's happening as we expected: we struggle to find the right settings every time we arrive at a new circuit.

“There is never too much power. The more you have, the better! The thing is, with the engine freeze rule, you're essentially playing your entire hand on one card. You make the engine, you test it in Malaysia and you only have two more tests. There is no time to make big changes.

“At the moment, what's more difficult for me is sliding into the corners, continuing to slide in the middle of them and sliding out, which has been one of my strong points. This is where I have the most difficulty with the new engine, the connection with the throttle, and it forces me to change my riding style a little.

“I try to be gentler, more precise, to make the bike turn differently, without slipping. In the end, you adapt the tuning of the bike to this new style. It depends on the circuit and many other things... Coming out of the corners, that's what takes me a little longer because that's where we lack mechanical grip.

“Viñales is not so much a newcomer. Last year he was already one of the fast guys. He has won races, made podiums… This is his third year in MotoGP and that gives him some experience which will allow him to grow. When a new rival appears, you try to learn what he does right, but also what he does wrong. Essentially, you study it. Maybe he does what Lorenzo didn't do with the Yamaha: brake hard. Braking was one of Lorenzo's weak points. Viñales on the contrary brakes late and is able to keep the distinctive speed on the corner of the Yamaha, and that makes the difference. »