Alex Márquez sees motivation in winning the renewal for 2023

February 9, 2022

At 25 years old, the youngest of the Márquez brothers faces his third season in MotoGP with the need to turn around a delicate situation, which in 2021 prevented him from matching the numbers of his debut exercise in the heavy motorcycle category.

In 2020, dressed in the Repsol Honda suit, Alex managed to accumulate the only two podiums for the brand with the golden wing, heavily affected by the long-term absence of Marc Márquez.

After his move to the LCR team, the characteristics of a motorcycle that did not forgive led him to not be able to get on the box even once, even though he stayed at the gates in Portugal (he finished fourth).

His arrival at the Lucio Cechinello team allowed him to extend his bond with Honda until the end of 2022, so that Alex Márquez will play the renewal, probably, in the first half of the course. And he will have to do it on a completely new motorcycle, which has nothing to do with the generation of RC213V that he knew until now, but which, on paper and according to him, favors his riding style more.

In Sepang, where the first test of this 2022 was carried out last weekend, the one in Cervera (Lleida) finished 17th, six tenths behind the fastest (Enea Bastianini), but without having been able to squeeze out the soft rubber – he went down on the second lap.

With a half smile on his lips, the #73 gives off optimism no matter how much he tries to be prudent in his statements, aware that there are still many kilometers to go before having the new Honda in hand.

“For now, the tests have been positive, but I say this cautiously because there is a lot of work ahead. It looks good, but I don’t want to be too optimistic because this is just pre-season.”

“We are at the beginning of the journey of this bike, and there are still elements that we do not have fully controlled, nor do we know its true potential”, agreed Alex in the presentation of the Cecchinello structure. “Surely we will have to use the first grand prix to test things,” he added.

For the two-time world champion (Moto3 and Moto2), this 2022 will be to show that he is worthy of continuing to be part of Honda beyond the end of his contract, which expires in December. “The goal is to finish in the top eight,” ventured the Spaniard, who is looking for an obvious leap in quality compared to his first two years, in which he finished 14th (2020) and 16th (2021).

“After a difficult season, you have to take a step forward. It’s a year of opportunities. More than pressure, winning the renewal gives me motivation. Almost all the contracts on the grid expire, and the idea is to find an interesting place or stay here, where I am very comfortable. The future is in my hands”, concluded Márquez.

Do not miss the photos of Alex Márquez’s Honda for MotoGP 2022

Alex Márquez’s Honda for MotoGP 2022

1 / 36

Alex Marquez, LCR Honda 2022

2 / 36

Photo by: Team LCR

Alex Marquez’s LCR Honda RC213V for 2022