Alex Marquez is not celebrating at the start of the MotoGP season, to say the least. Like his illustrious older brother Marc, he collects crashes on a new Honda which nevertheless promised to avoid them. Alex Marquez has his part in these accidents, but we see him less since he is at the bottom of the ranking... In Austin, he fell three times, the last of which in the race at nearly 200 km/h brought him to stay with the doctors for a while. 20th overall with only 4 points scored, the LCR Honda Team driver takes stock and remains hopeful of getting back on his feet by returning to Europe...
The speech at Honda since the start of this 2022 campaign is that the new RC213V is more user-friendly and efficient than its predecessor, but in this reassuring concert of praise, there is still a dissonant voice: “ I've been suffering from the front end since Qatar. There is no information, but last year at least you felt it when it was going away one way or another when you were at the limit. There is no information on this subject ". So it would be worse, but… “ Marc tried something and improved it, but we have to keep improving. Seeing Marc ride like that is good because he has found that confidence going forward that we lack. It will be time to reflect it and improve at Portimao ».
To listen Alex Marquez, it is the change in continuity at Honda, which is exactly the opposite impression left by Qatar. But what followed was less beautiful. And especially for the double World Champion, once in Moto3 and last in Moto2: “ making a general assessment is difficult because we have had four races that are strange and particular. It is difficult to draw conclusions, but it is true that we suffered more than expected ». THE Austin, it was even a real ordeal: “ on Saturday it was a disaster with two falls. On Sunday I crashed at turn 10 at 190km/h, I made a mistake at that time. But it is okay, I hurt my head, but after ten minutes I was fine. The protocol says I'm fine, I have more bruises on my body but I'm fine ».
Alex Marquez: “ Europe will change the championship a lot«
Against bad luck, Alex Marquez always makes a good heart: “ I'm positive, I was able to do five and a half laps being aggressive and fighting to overtake drivers. It's not the worst weekend, in FP1 I was in good positions, in warm up I was good and in the race I was aggressive. These are positive things » he said before looking ahead to what comes next, in Europe: “ Portugal, especially for me, is a special meeting where I am good and last year I got good results, it is a good test for us to see how we are doing ».
« There is also Jerez… When we arrive in Europe, everything settles down and it’s calmer. There will be fewer unforeseen events. The ranking will be more regular. It will be important to do well in these two races. The test that follows will be important because it will mark what we can do and where we will be this season. If we start well, Europe will change the championship a lot " finished Alex Marquez.
Results of the MotoGP Grand Prix of the Americas at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin:
Classification credit: MotoGP.com
