Alex Marquez's second season and first as an LCR-Honda driver has been complicated to say the least so far. The younger brother of the illustrious Marc also collects scraps, but without reporting the same results. It seems to be the one that suffers the most from the versatility of the RC213V. The summer break comes at just the right time for Nakagami's teammate who will have to show a different face in the second part of the season...
In nine Grands Prix contested this season, Alex Marquez regrets four abandonments. His best result was sixth place in France. In Portugal, he was eighth, in Catalonia eleventh then fourteenth place punctuated appearances in Italy and recently at Assen. A record that does not fit with his status as double world champion, it was in Moto3, then in Moto2, and as a driver who has a contract Honda in the pocket.
Alex Marquez knows it, and he is the first to regret it. Morale which was further put to the test in Holland: “ I'm sad because I worried a lot and I didn't enjoy the race. If you don't control the bike and it's not stable, it's very difficult. We made some changes during the warm-up, which in hindsight maybe wasn't the best solution, but on Sunday morning I felt a little better ».
The younger brother of eight-time world champion Marc nevertheless managed to finish in the points for the fifth time this season. However, he struggled on a track he had never ridden a MotoGP on before. Regarding his problems, he said: “ we know our difficulties. This is the engine braking and the level of grip on the rear wheel. We are making small progress and I believe in Honda that we will continue to make progress ».
Alex Marquez looks for a plan to improve in the second part of the season
He also added: “ maybe Assen is not the best track for our bike. It's now the summer break and it will be good for me and the team to rest, to recharge the batteries and find a plan to improve in the second part of the season. We will be ready ».
He finishes : " I feel like I need to hit the restart button and approach the second half of the season differently. I believe and know that we will be competitive again in Austria ». Alex Marquez is currently fifteenth in championnat with 27 points. He is the last of the regular Honda drivers.
MotoGP Assen J3: classification
Credit classification motogp.com
