After filming in Sepang, ‘Il Dottore’ prostrates before the capabilities of Spanish ‘rookie’ in the highest category
From genius to genius, it has hardly taken a first contact between the two to confirm the crush. Valentino Rossi, who knows something about this, has not stopped praising Marc Márquez during his maturation process, when he was devastating in 125cc and Moto2. Already as a rival in the premier class, in training at Sepang (second official of the season), all the expectations of ‘Il Dottore’ about the precocious talent of Cervera have been confirmed.
“I did a couple of laps behind him, I enjoyed the fight and watching him drive,” said the Italian legend from Malaysia, who went further on the qualities of Márquez: “He’s an acrobat, he’s like a madman, he goes with the Elbow on the ground. “Already in Valencia, in the last Grand Prix of 2012, when the Spanish astonished with a historic comeback from the last position to win the race – and that was already world champion, the Tavullia had pronounced a blunt: “It’s the new Rossi.”
After feeling it close, Rossi corroborated his auguries. Márquez is going to assume an earthquake in the World Cup, because “it’s special, because it has a strange driving style, maybe something new, Jorge [Lorenzo] and I have a more classic style, but Márquez is something different “he said in statements to ‘Motorcyclenews’. To Valentino, the Spanish reminds him of the aggressive Stoner.
Márquez also spoke about the experience of shooting with his idol. “At first it was a bit strange, I saw a driver with a lot of experience and I learned a lot in just three laps behind him,” acknowledged Repsol Honda.
The preseason training in Sepang has been marked by rain. This Thursday, on the last day, the best time has been for Dani Pedrosa (2: 00.562), who has sent in five of the six days accumulated. However, the best practice record was for Jorge Lorenzo (2: 00.282), signed on Wednesday – below the official circuit record.
But the world champion is not happy at all: “It was a bit worse than I expected because we had some problems with the front tire when braking, it did not give me much confidence, so I slowed down a bit. The conditions have been extreme this time, so it was difficult to match the simulation we did in the first Sepang test, “he said.
Sensations similar to those of Rossi, his Yamaha partner: “We have tried to improve our performance and we have solved some problems, but not all.” The balance is positive, we had another three days and added more kilometers to take the bike back to the top and closer to the limit. ”
A quick adaptation
Although the feeling is still Marquez, from the first day with the MotoGP Honda with times similar to the big ones, less than a tenth of his teammate Pedrosa. The ‘rookie’ of the top category, which suffered two minor falls, is adapting quickly to new suspensions and Bridgestone tires and leaves Sepang with the third global time, less than four tenths of Lorenzo’s record. “In the morning we could ride with the bike in water and the truth is that I felt very good, although I had a small fall,” he said.
“When the track dried up, we continued working as before on the electronics and the set-up of the bike, especially on the front axle, during the first laps I did not find myself comfortable in this aspect and I had another It was a slight fall when I pushed a bit more in front, and at the end of the day we set up the bike with what worked best for us in these tests and I think we had a good time, we have had a very good feeling “.
The pilots will return to shoot within 12 days, this time in the new Circuit of the Americas (Austin, Texas), for a three-day training. It will be the last test before the dance begins, next April 7 in Losail.
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