Marquez left bemoaning Honda: “We need more to fight for championship”
The Spaniard missed much of 2022 as he rehabilitated from a fourth major arm surgery yet was still Honda’s highest-placed rider in the MotoGP standings, finishing 13th, after a horror year for the team.
Marquez tested Repsol Honda’s prototype bike for next season on Tuesday but was left frustrated with its lack of improvement, and insisted that unless major steps were taken he would not be able to challenge for a seventh MotoGP championship.
“We tried a proto-bike with new aerodynamics and the same engine with a small modification, a different chassis. That’s it,” he explained.
“There is not a big difference. A bit. But we lose it in a different area, it’s a compromise.
“In the end, the performance was very similar.
“Of course I expected more but it isn’t there. The important thing is that Honda is working.
“I expect a big step in February at the next test.
“I expected more because always you want more and more. I cannot say that I’m disappointed because Honda are working, they are trying.
“But we need more if we want to fight for the championship. Or we will not fight for the championship.
“We improve one area, we lose in another one. More or less the same problems.
"We have to work this winter if we want to fight for the title. You don't have to take one step, you have to take two."
Marquez will be joined in the 2023 MotoGP rider line-up by Joan Mir, who exits Suzuki, while Alex Rins will join Takaaki Nakagami for the LCR Honda team.
Marquez said about his new teammates’ verdicts on the Honda spec: “I saw their comments that they were surprised in the beginning! Step by step they are getting better. We know, with this bike, to get race pace is difficult.
“They are part of Honda. It was important for me to get their first impressions. When you ride a bike, you get used to the problem. If you are talented, you adapt to the problems and you are fast.”
A disappointed Marquez concluded: “I didn’t make many laps today, only for what I needed to try. That’s it. There was no sense to use the soft tyre or make a time attack. I gave my comments. It is time for them to work in the winter-time.
“I am happy because there is a little bit more torque. But only a little. We need a big step if we want to be, not on the same level, but closer to other manufacturers.”
The next opportunity to test is in February at Sepang, part of the 2023 MotoGP calendar.
James was a sports journalist at Sky Sports for a decade covering everything from American sports, to football, to F1.
