It is with a Marc Marquez third absolute time of the three days of testing at Sepang and a fifth Dani Pedrosa that the HRC leaves Malaysia. Seen like that, everything is not going so bad for Honda this offseason. But appearances are deceiving. In fact between the old and the new engine, the dilemma is total while, like last year, the electronics blur the lines a little more.
On this third day in Malaysia, the reigning World Champion started by doing the job. He put on soft tires and set a time. Which assured him a place in the top three. Then he started lining up laps again to identify the potential of his new RC213V. To end with more questions than certainties.
The dilemma is this: “ it's complicated to assess our situation » explains MM93 on crash.net. " In fact, I did not seek to achieve the best performance. Above all, I did eleven laps to understand and gather information. The question is this: either we continue with the old engine and we will have practically no room for improvement. Either we take the new one which has more torque and a real possibility of evolution. At the moment, the lap times with both engines are very close ».
A situation reminiscent of last year. But Márquez assures that it is less serious: “ A year ago, I didn't understand anything at all. There, we know where the problems are and we are also closer to others ". And this concern is the unique electronics: “ our bases from last year are not ideal, we need to adapt them. This is the first time we are driving with this engine. Its problem is not its power since other engines are more powerful. This is the way the couple is delivered. You need to work on exiting turns and unloading the front wheel when accelerating. ».
A pitfall that the absence of fins, desired by Honda, highlights. “ We must decide which path to take. Work with the old engine and find more power for it or choose the new one ". Everything remains to be done and the next tests at Philipp Island from February 15 to 17 will be crucial: “ we gathered information and they now have a lot of work to do in Japan ».
« We were able to progress. We have to see what it looks like on another route. Sepang is a special circuit with special, very hot conditions. In 2015, I was fast there then I suffered a lot elsewhere. Australia will reveal our biggest problems. Then the little ones will be detected gradually, trace by trace ».
A speech which contrasts with the enthusiasm perceived at Yamaha. But we note that last year, it was more or less the same thing. And we know the epilogue…
