MotoGP: Marc Márquez fears he still has problems with the front end on his Honda

This is a weakness that is commonly acquired on the RC213V. A pitfall that the 23 falls suffered by Marc Márquez during the 2018 season attest. It is located at the front of a Honda which tends to slip away when it is heavily used during braking phases. In Sepang, during the three days of testing, the seven-time winner did not feel this defect on the new opus made available to him. But he is not fooled. First, he didn't attack as usual due to his convalescing shoulder. And then he saw Crutchlow fall. Hence his doubts…

To Marc Márquez, its Honda is still vulnerable to frontal falls, despite the manufacturer's efforts to improve this aspect. The HRC official, who teamed up at Sepang with a Bradl replacement of Jorge Lorenzo to the scaphoid who is recovering from a fracture, did not take any risks. And for good reason, he himself is recovering from a shoulder operated on during the winter break.

It was therefore not fully fit for the trials in Malaysia. After completing limited laps over the three days, he concluded his journey in eleventh place, just under a second off the infernal pace set by Danilo Petrucci during the last day.

Although the Spaniard didn't push hard enough to be certain, he pointed out the two crashes suffered by the other Honda rider, Cal Crutchlow, as proof that the front of the 2019 bike remained delicate. “ Of course, we are also working on this area, but this test did not allow me to focus on it because I could not attack ", Marquez said on Motorsport.

« I was never at the limit at any time. I have always been below. This isn't normal for me, but Cal has crashed two or three times, so it still seems like a critical point. But we'll see. When I'm ready to attack, I'll push as usual. But for this test I rode safely, which isn't enough to try things up front ».

He adds : " instead we tried to improve the acceleration because that's what I could feel, but in the corner I wasn't pushing ».

When the opinion of Márquez was transmitted to him, Crutchlow said his falls at Sepang were the result of a different cause than an overly sensitive front end: “ you must interpret my accidents differently. When we lose the front with the Honda, we often fall into the braking zone because we overload the front. My feeling right now is quite the opposite. I feel like I don't have the charge like last year, so maybe they've improved things. But I also have to adapt ". To be continued…

Sepang J3 tests: times

1	9	Danilo Petrucci	Ducati GP19	1:58.239
2	63	Francis Bagnaia	Ducati GP18	1:58.302	0.063	0.063
3	43	Jack Miller	Ducati GP19	1:58.366	0.127	0.064
4	4	Andrea Dovizioso	Ducati GP19	1:58.538	0.299	0.172
5	12	Maverick Vinales	Yamaha M1	1:58.644	0.405	0.106
6	35	Cal Crutchlow	Honda RC213V	1:58.780	0.541	0.136
7	41	Aleix Espargará	Aprilia RS-GP	1:59.022	0.783	0.242
8	21	Franco Morbidelli	Yamaha M1	1:59.141	0.902	0.119
9	30	Takaaki Nakagami	Honda RC213V	1:59.148	0.909	0.007
10	46	Valentino Rossi	Yamaha M1	1:59.155	0.916	0.007
11	93	Marc Márquez	Honda RC213V	1:59.170	0.931	0.015
12	42	Alex Rins	Suzuki GSX-RR	1:59.180	0.941	0.010
13	6	Stefan bradl	Honda RC213V	1:59.368	1.129	0.188
14	53	Tito Rabat	Ducati GP18	1:59.485	1.246	0.117
15	36	Joan mir	Suzuki GSX-RR	1:59.486	1.247	0.001
16	20	fabio quartararo	Yamaha M1	1:59.497	1.258	0.011
17	5	Johann zarco	KTM RC16	1:59.640	1.401	0.143
18	44	Pol Espargaro	KTM RC16	1:59.751	1.512	0.111
19	88	Miguel Oliveira	KTM RC16	1:59.949	1.710	0.198
20	17	Karel Abraham	Ducati GP18	2:00.378	2.139	0.429
21	55	Hafiz Syahrin	KTM RC16	2:00.766	2.527	0.388
22	50	Sylvain Guintoli	Suzuki GSX-RR	2:00.990	2.751	0.224
23	38	Bradley Smith	Aprilia RS-GP	2:00.995	2.756	0.005
24	66	Mika Kallio	KTM RC16	2:01.020	2.781	0.025
25	T2	Nakasuga/Folger	Yamaha M1	2:01.243	3.004	0.223
26	T1	Jonas Folger	Yamaha M1	2:01.719	3.480	0.476