The current Champion of the World of the Repsol Honda team has begun the year as it finished, ahead of MotoGP ™. In this extensive interview, Marc Márquez praises his impressions after the three days of tests in Sepang, where he dominated from the first to the last day.
Marc Márquez has started in the best possible way in the preseason 2014, his second in the queen category, in which he will have to defend the title obtained last year. The young rider of the Repsol Honda team has masterfully controlled the three working days of the Sepang Circuit. On Thursday, Márquez managed to lower the record of the circuit he had since 2012 Casey Stoner with a new perfect lap, at 1.59.533.
This winter you have not stopped. Can not you live without racing racing?
“This winter has had two periods. The first one has been more dedicated to events and press, and in the second there was more fun and things I wanted to do like Dirt Track, cars or karts. It is always good to keep the activity “.
They are supposed to be vacations, and you, of races.
“There was time for everything, I was also on vacation, during Christmas. And in January, I began with physical preparation and especially to have fun, that I had not had the opportunity yet “.
How do you have the body after three intense days?
“I’m pretty good. The hand is normal in the first training, but the truth is that I have felt pretty well. Every passing day I felt better. The first day I was a little loose because I had been suffering from flu and I got here a little tired and not in my best condition, but these workouts have also served me so that each day I find myself better. In addition, we have done a race simulation and I have felt well. Now it’s time to keep getting ready and getting better, but in the end where you train better, it’s about the bike. ”
What conclusions have you obtained from this career simulation?
“We have verified that we can improve the passage by curve and the exit of these, and also has been very positive to be able to test the new tire of Bridgestone because they have worked very well and I like. They are pretty similar to the previous ones but now you can use the new ones here, they have good grip and have been very constant from the beginning to the end. ”
Have you noticed the same competitive Honda even with the restriction this year of a liter of less fuel?
“Yes, at the moment we have not had problems with gasoline consumption, maybe we have them in some circuits but for now we are pretty good in this regard. With this change we also have to balance the motorcycle, because not everything is exactly like before, there are small variations. ”
How is Marc Márquez different today from a year ago?
“I have more experience and that is enough, both inside and outside the track. I remember that last year in all the rounds it went to the limit and this year is different. When testing the motorcycle, we find the fastest way to go, and that is important for Honda. ”
How do you face the 2014 season?
“This year the first thing will be to focus on the preseason. But when the championship begins, of course we are going to fight for the title again and we will try to be competitive from the beginning. ”
In the tests you have done these days, do you make very radical changes, and then find the average?
“It depends, for now we have verified that the base we had was good, with the information we had of the 2013 motorcycle, but yes, sometimes it’s good to make big changes to make the difference and see if it’s better or worse, because With small changes you can stay with the doubt. ”
This year you have former Moto2 ™ rivals. How have you seen them
“The truth is that pretty well. Depending on how you do it in Moto2 you can have first expectations. I expected Pol to be fast and he’s done it well enough to be his first time here in Malaysia. Redding looks pretty big on top of the Honda, but in the end this is not how it starts but how it ends and surely during the preseason season and will have an ascending progression. Especially Pol, with a MotoGP factory, I will tell you that it will be ahead this year. ”
Do you feel more pressured by winning the championship or the opposite?
“It’s different. For example, last year in this test I was more nervous and had more questions. Now I feel more relaxed, but we are in the first training sessions of February; When we run it will be different because there will be pressure, although I work well in those conditions. If I finish fourth, fifth, sixth, … they will say that it is a disaster and even if I finish second, what could have done better. Last year, on the other hand, it had the advantage that any result was good. ”
Interview courtesy of Repsol Honda
Motogp.com
