MotoGP Malaysia Sepang J1: for Marc Márquez (Honda/6), it was rescue day!

When reading the FP2 timesheet, we wondered if there had not been a transponder error. But no, Marc Márquez was indeed only thirteenth, out of the top 10. Fortunately, his performance during Fp1 allowed him to appear sixth, despite a session marked by a rescue of which he had the secret and a technical problem on his Honda. Meanwhile, Fabio Quartararo broke the track record and starred. A situation with which the eight-time World Champion cannot be satisfied.

The Repsol Honda factory rider, Marc Márquez, had more pleasant Fridays than this one in Malaysia at the Sepang international circuit. He finished sixth overall in FP1 and FP2, falling 0,941 seconds off the Petronas Yamaha rider's best time. fabio quartararo. He tested a new handbrake lever, left on the handlebars, controlling the rear, which allowed him to get increased ground clearance in right-hand corners. Some drivers use a thumb brake on the left, but this system did not please the world champion. “ I have to feel the handlebars when I brake with my hand. I also ride a lot of motocross, and I use the clutch and front brake. »

« In the morning I rode the standard motorcycle. In FP2, both bikes were equipped with this new rear brake lever “, said Marc. “ I had the rear brake lever on the handlebars on the right. In the past, Honda came up with such a system, but I didn't like the feeling it gave. The HRC then evolved. Now they have brought this new thing. I'm good in left turns, mostly very fast, in right turns it could be better. I'm doing well, but not very, very quickly. This is why we are looking for new solutions. But this new solution is not ideal. We will remove it by tomorrow. This was only the first attempt to see if this system could work in the future and if it really had potential. At the moment I don't see any benefit. »

Marc Márquez would like more traction for the 2020 bike when exiting corners. “ Since we lack grip, we have problems. Yamaha really has extra leverage in this area at the moment. They have the best bike, especially on a fast lap with new tires. They are incredibly strong Yamaha riders. In addition, in the last part of the braking zone we load the front tire too much. That's why the public sees so many saves from me. We have improved this year, but we need to improve further. We will need to use less weight on the front tire in the future, so we will have more grip when exiting corners »

He ends with his rescue at turn 2: “ it's an instinctive reaction. It came out of the blue. But I had a warning at turn 1 before. I have to change my driving style for this circuit, I need another one, like at Phillip Island. We also had to change the settings a bit. But I can therefore push the bike to the limit from the first lap. »

FP2 standings MotoGP Malaysian Grand Prix at Sepang:

 

FP1-FP2 standings MotoGP Malaysian Grand Prix at Sepang:

Credit rankings: MotoGP.com