Software complicates Honda MotoGP comeback

The double MotoGP champion struggled through the first half of last year with the consistency of Honda's RC213V, falling three times in a run of five early-season races.

Having ultimately reverted to his 2014-specification bike with the '15 engine, Marquez concedes the team simply went down the wrong development path.

"In 2013 and 2014 I found a good bike, and everything went well," he told Motosprint.

"2015 is the year when, in winter testing, we made a mistake, that is we went down the wrong path with development.

"It wasn't just my problem, as Dani [Pedrosa] also fell for it despite nine years of MotoGP experience.

"Thing is, there was a concurrency of errors. We all made some at the same time."

In a dual 2016 technical change, the switch to Michelin control tyres is accompanied by the introduction of a new Magneti Marelli control ECU.

During their first proper running on both new elements at Valencia last November, riders called the electronics a "backwards step", and Marquez knows it will be a factor in Honda resolving its 2015 mistakes.

"The difficulty, on top of everything else, will be in managing everything well," the 22-year-old added.

"It's very easy to make mistakes in these cases. Tyres are the same for everyone, but the new software is a step back compared to what we had until last year.

"We must find a performance as close as possible to what we had before, but what complicates things is our need to develop a whole bike and choose the right engine configuration. This is where we had the big problem in 2015.

"But before making that choice we must reach a good level with the electronics; only then we can make our choices on the engine.

"It makes no sense to have a good engine with inadequate electronics management, because you can get confused."

- Translation by Michele Lostia