Marquez still unsure of crash point of 2022 Honda MotoGP bike

The Honda has been radically overhauled for 2022 after several years of problems for the marque, with the new bike being more rear-biased to cure its traction issues.

The new RC213V made a splash in the season-opener in Qatar at the start of the month, with Pol Espargaro fighting for victory before emerging third in the race.

But the change to the Honda has meant Marquez – who was fifth in Qatar – is still struggling to employ his key front-end riding technique.

Speaking ahead of this weekend’s Indonesia Grand Prix at the Mandalika International Street Circuit, Marquez admits the biggest issue he is facing right now is that he can’t feel where the limit is before a crash.

“Since I rode this bike for the first time, I understood that the potential was very high,” said Marquez, who had a front-end crash in warm-up for the Qatar GP and several in the pre-season he didn’t understand.

“But I need a special feeling with the front if I want to be fast.

“This is what I really miss at the moment and it’s what we are looking for.

“For example I’m riding with the same bike as my team-mate and he’s riding in another way and he’s able to be fast, and we are able to be fast.

Marc Marquez, Repsol Honda Team

Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images

“But that special feeling is what I really need to be faster.

“At the moment the problem is I don’t understand when I will crash or when I will lose the front.

“But anyway, riding with this base is a base that you can win races with. But I want more and I want to do a step.”

Despite this, Marquez said the Qatar GP was the best he’d felt on the Honda in two years since before his serious right arm break which ruled him out of the 2020 campaign.

“Basically in Qatar it was a solid weekend, nothing really special but we were there, we were not so far from the top positions,” he added.

“That was my target. Of course, I tried to be on the podium, of course I tried to follow Enea [Bastianini] when he overtook me but it was not the day, was not the time.

“Our target this weekend is to try to improve the result from Qatar, and then in Argentina try to improve the result from here.

“But step-by-step, I’m feeling good. I mean, in Qatar race, 22-laps in a row was the best feeling I had during the last two years.

“Let’s see how we can approach this weekend.”