Marc Marquez conflicted about his change in style for MotoGP 2016

Marquez won titles in his first two seasons in the premier class, including a run of 10-straight wins at the start of 2014.

However, on a difficult-to-tame Honda the aggressive Marquez had a tough first half of 2015, falling three times in a run of five early-season races, before reverting to the previous year's RC213V frame.

His fortunes subsequently improved, and Marquez acknowledged over the winter that he would have to change his approach when things weren't going well, rather than continuing to attack.

Jerez was the first real sign of that, and after challenging Jorge Lorenzo for second through the first half of the race, he backed off and settled for third place to consolidate his championship lead.

"Maybe last year was different, but this winter I learned a lot and already before the race [HRC vice-president Shuhei] Nakamoto said to me, 'please finish the race'," Marquez said.

"Here in Jerez, we know that for my riding style it's not one of the best tracks, we know that we are not at 100 per cent with the bike.

"And when I saw that Valentino [Rossi] was in an incredible level and Lorenzo was a little bit faster than us, I said, '[take the] 16 points and be quiet for the next race'."

Marquez won MotoGP's two races in the Americas, but had anticipated a tougher time in Europe, based on Honda's acceleration deficit.

He struggled with braking and front-tyre wear during the Jerez race, but still left with a 17-point advantage over Lorenzo and 24 over Rossi, even if he was not entirely at peace with his approach.

"It's a big fight inside me," he said.

"But I need to feel well on the bike and I need to feel strong enough.

"At the moment I feel strong, but I didn't feel at that point like 2014, when I was doing what I wanted on the bike, I was playing with the bike.

"The good thing is we have a small [points] advantage to manage and we must be quiet until we don't find this point.

"OK, maybe it's not the best Marc now - for the show, for the fans - but I don't want to be in the same situation as last year."