After a San Marino Grand Prix which saw Pedrosa return to victory while Marc Márquez continued to manage his championship as a savvy grocer, the HRC troops remained in Misano for tests to prepare for 2017. But in addition to the two drivers official, there was a third who toured with the RC213V: Alex Márquez.
The information comes from speedweek. Alex Marquez was asked by HRC to run the RC213Vs planned for testing. A godsend for the brother of whom you know who, despite his attempts, is only having a decent run in his current second season of Moto2. A sixth place in Austria and a fifth position in the Czech Republic are his only best results this year. The Spaniard, driver Marc VDS is fifteenth in the championship with 40 points and he is eclipsed by his partner Morbidely within the Marc VDS team.
So why so much honor? Has HRC become a family affair? Michael Bartholemy, the pilot’s boss, explained: “ it had rained during the night from Sunday to Monday in Misano. The track was not passable. The two official HRC drivers only have two days of testing left and one should not be wasted. Furthermore, the version of the RC213V was that of 2017 with new features whose reliability had to be verified. So Alex was asked to do six laps on the bikes of Pedrosa and Márquez. It was installation rounds so that everything would be ready the next day ».
A great opportunity nonetheless!