Marc Marquez says MotoGP European rounds will pose Honda questions
MotoGP championship leader Marc Marquez admits the series' return to Europe and more traditional circuits poses a question mark for Honda
After three flyaway races to start the season, Marquez is something of an unexpected points leader, based on Honda's struggles with the new control electronics.
With two wins out of three, Marquez leads Yamaha's Jorge Lorenzo by 21 points, but given the unique characteristics of Qatar, Argentina and Austin - and his own affinity with the latter - knows sterner challenges are ahead.
In 2015, Lorenzo won the first four races of the European swing.
"I'm happy with these races but in another side I want to arrive in Europe," he said.
"Different kinds of racetracks, more narrow, different kind of tarmac, it's the older style tarmac.
"We will see there, but at the moment we have 21 points [advantage at the top], so something is there.
"Honda is working hard and I keep pushing a hundred per cent, every practice, every lap and it looks like [in Austin] we could manage, but the question mark will be Europe.
"When we arrive there, in Jerez, Le Mans, these kinds of circuits, we will see."
Marquez admits challenging for the championship was not at the forefront of his mind during Honda's tough winter, but underlined again that acceleration is where it needs to make gains in order to do so.
"Before the start of the season it was complicated to think about the title," he said.
"At the moment it's the same bike more or less than Qatar, but we are learning more and more.
"We understand more things, and still Honda is working hard to bring us some acceleration.
"Especially in fourth, fifth, sixth gear, I can't follow Suzuki, Yamaha or Ducati.
"But I know that Honda is working a lot and one of these priorities always is the top speed and the acceleration, so they are doing a big effort and they are starting to bring already some new parts."
Be part of the Autosport community
Join the conversationShare Or Save This Story
Subscribe and access Autosport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
Top Comments