On only his second day as a MotoGP rider, Alex Marquez played follow-my-leader on track with big brother Marc and said he: ‘has several things to learn’
No crash and six tenths of a second off his lap times might have seemed like all the indication the world needed that Alex Marquez was getting to grips with his factory Honda MotoGP machine, but for a period of time in that Day 2 of the Valencia test school was definitely in – courtesy of 8-time World Champion brother Marc.
Here’s what the newest Marquez in MotoGP said after his first two days of testing in Spain:
“Yesterday I made a mistake as soon as I left the pits and today it is clear that I have pushed, but we have been more careful with low temperatures and so you know the motorcycle a little more. It is clear that we will have to look for limits and that the falls will come.
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“Today, luckily, there has been no fall on my part, but of course they will arrive, because it enters into work and treatment. ”
“The Jerez MotoGP test is about us deciding which motorcycle I will ride, but the most important thing is that I will be with my team one hundred percent and that we will begin to know each other and take steps forward, but the goal is to improve.
“You have to keep understanding this bike and adapt to the style I have to do in MotoGP and go around concentrated, to understand things and try to be closer and closer ”.
“I have ridden with Marc twice now and it’s positive. With all the riders I’ve seen on track so far, I have tried to learn something, even if it was small. In some areas I learned less than in others.
“We have shared telemetry, not only with Marc but with all the Honda riders and we are trying to make the best of each bit of information we have.
“I have seen the points where I need more and you have to try to improve those points for the next test at Jerez.
“Doing some filming with Marc has been good, because that time on track has helped me learn things too. But it is clear that he is on another level and that he is two steps ahead.
“I have progressed from yesterday to today in consistency. I have been more consistent and everything was a little more under control, but there are still many steps to be done. Where else to understand is the tyres and using carbon brakes – that is what I have to learn the most.
“Sometimes I get too ‘stopped’ on the brakes and learning the amount of feel from the brakes is what I have to learn the most from the test at Jerez.
“The test has been positive and, compared to yesterday, we have focused more on riding with a used tyre, being consistent with pace – which has been better. The important thing is that the steps we are making are firm and forward.
“I understand the bike little by little and I have taken many turns.”
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