MotoGP: Marquez Test Dead in the Water?

High hopes were shattered in Sepang as Marc Marquez was confined to long hours in the garage to sort out issues that kept cropping up for Honda.

Well, it’s not the start anyone would have wanted, but it’s the one they got. Marquez managed to hold out for 33 laps at the Sepang tests. Not a small number by any means, but certainly not an ideal one.

“We had several problems. We basically couldn’t test anything, very few things. It was hard on track. It was difficult to find the right moment. We went out late like everybody else. I had a problem that kept me in the garage a lot of time, then I went out with the other bike and I had another problem and we spent yet more time in the garage so that stops us from doing many things we had to do.” – Marc Marquez

Segundo día de test! ✅ Second test day! #malaysia #sepang #preseason #2017startsnow pic.twitter.com/AtMkKwB1I3

— Marc Márquez (@marcmarquez93) January 31, 2017

It just seemed like Marquez couldn’t catch a break. Both bikes exhibited problems right from the outset. It was like watching mechanical whack-a-mole. The moment they managed to fix an issue another one would crop up.

“In the end, when I was pushing with new tires I had another problem with the electronics.” – Marc Marquez.

Though plagued with problems, Marquez did anckowledge that if there’s one place these issues should occur – it’s out during the test.

“It’s better to have that now than during the season. We are here to work and to improve and when these things happen you need patience and little by little I’m sure it will be better. – Marc Marquez

Espero que este año nos llevemos muy bien princesa! 😁 I hope we get along well this year princess! #MotoGP pic.twitter.com/t9FpyTOW4i

— Marc Márquez (@marcmarquez93) January 29, 2017

All issues notwithstanding, he managed to finish out the day only a second behind the pace set by Andrea Iannone and his Suzuki – and this gives the Spaniard a boost of confidence before heading back to the shop:

“In terms of pace we are not so bad, so that gives me confidence,” he said. “We didn’t expect to have so many problems, but we expected to have work as it’s a new engine and you need to re-adjust everything.” – Marc Marquez