Marc Marquez did not miss his entry into this Japanese Grand Prix which follows that of last weekend in Aragon which marked his return to competition. In Spain, he had missed his direct entry into Q2, a deadline that he may have already honored this Friday at Motegi since, tomorrow, Saturday, there should be rain. The track which belongs to Honda honored the official motorcycles of the brand since his teammate Pol Espargaró is also in the top 10 in a seventh place which he had not seen for ages. That being said, everything is not going well, especially from a physical point of view for the eight-time winner...
On this Friday in Motegi, Honda kept up appearances in his Japanese Grand PrixMore Marc Marquez quickly reminds the leaders of the Tokyo brand that they would be wrong to already show off. On the one hand because it is far from having the form to maintain this performance achieved on a tour over the distance of a race, and because, on the other hand, the proposed route is quite particular compared to the others offered throughout the season.
On this point, the Spaniard explains: “ here the turn practically does not exist in the curves, you go with the brake all the way and you turn in a short time, and you give gas he says. " You don't have to actually negotiate a curve. The corner is not that important, that's why Pol and I put the Hondas in the top 10, which is also important for them. But it is true that we do not usually have the characteristics of this circuit ».
Thereupon he speaks of himself: “ I have a little pain in my arm here on this circuit and above all I feel that there is still a lack of strength. I felt that in Misano and Aragón, but here the braking phases are very, very long. That's why I'm having a little more trouble. It will therefore be difficult to run the race with a full attack. We will see how consistent we can be throughout the weekend. To do several laps in a row I know that I am far away, but the important thing is that now I'm good for four or five laps and I can drive the way I want. The rest has yet to come ».
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Marc Marquez: “ Saturday we will see what the goal is based on how I feel when I wake up »
However, the spearhead of Repsol Honda was certainly satisfied with his sixth place in this FP1 extended due to the fact that it was the only MotoGP session of the day: “ the bike seems to work well on this track as our weaknesses are less noticeable. I immediately felt good with the bike. I pushed hard today because we only had one session and it's supposed to rain tomorrow », he recalls. “ So it was important to be in the top 10. This makes running much easier. Because when you start in the top 10, it gets easier. And it's easier if you go straight to Q2. So that was the main objective. Saturday we will see what the goal is based on how I feel when I wake up ».
The Kalex aluminum swingarm was revised on Friday at Motegi on the RC213V bearing the 93: “ I only used the aluminum swingarm today”, confirms the 29-year-old pilot. “ If it rains on Saturday, we have to decide with the team whether we will use the aluminum or carbon swingarm. But it's more a question of quantity, because we have several carbon swingarms and more spare parts in case of a fall. Today I went straight to the track with the aluminum swingarm. But we don't yet know exactly which one is better. We still need to analyze it in depth”, added Marc Marquez who finished: “ I sincerely hope in the rain, in order to be already in the top ten ».
MotoGP Japan J1: ranking
Credit classification motogp.com
