A month ago, it was still doubtful whether Marc Marquez would even be fit to ride in the pair of MotoGP pre-season tests.
But his double-vision problems improved just in time for the Sepang test, where he finished a close eighth fastest on the all-new Honda RC213V.
Struggling for general fitness after two and a half months of enforced rest, Marquez didn’t waste energy on a time attack during the final day of the following Mandalika test, which concluded on Sunday.
But the eight-time world champion felt a “big difference” in his form compared to Sepang, “enjoying” himself on the bike and setting an average pace comparable to the likes of Fabio Quartararo and team-mate Pol Espargaro.
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“It’s true that I was fast, in a good pace, riding well,” Marquez said. “When I tried different set-ups, still the lap time was coming. I tried different aerodynamics, the lap time was coming. I tried different tyres, medium rear and soft rear, the lap time was coming. When you have this feeling it’s because the potential is there.
“It’s true that it’s a special track also, it was slippery and in these conditions normally I feel really good. But by the end the grip was very high. So I’m happy because we go leave the Mandalika test with the job done.
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“I still need more to get this special feeling with the bike, but the lap time was coming, so happy.
“I enjoyed it a lot on the bike and that was the way to survive [the last day] because I was very tired from the beginning. I think everybody was. But today I felt pain on the shoulder and for that reason I didn’t make a time attack, because you use too much power.
“So I just kept my race pace, worked on the set-up of the bike and I enjoyed it. I started to feel the bike, I started to feel the slides. I want to reconfirm this feeling in Qatar of course. But it was a big difference, comparing Malaysia to here.”
Marquez was 14th on the final day in terms of one-off lap time, 0.733s from team-mate Pol Espargaro.
