The second place achieved by Marc Márquez in the Australian Grand Prix and, above all, the way in which he achieved it, have raised the spirits of Honda, the only manufacturer that, after Alex Rins’ victory with Suzuki, still has not achieved no victory in the 2022 MotoGP World Championship.
As usual on Mondays after the race weekend, the Honda team manager, the Spaniard Alberto Puig , analyzes what happened during the grand prix and, this time, highlights the performance of Marc Márquez, who he considers has shown again your own DNA.
“The most important thing on Sunday was to see Marc back to his true speed and to be able to show his true DNA,” Puig stressed.
“This means fighting for victory. From the point of view of the Repsol Honda Team and HRC, we are very happy for him and, of course, to be back at the front. But the focus is on him because we know what he has suffered and we have nothing but respect and admiration for the effort he has made to be in these conditions again and perform at this level. For all this, we will continue working for the future to bring the best possible bike and return the title to Honda. This is our commitment and our obligation as a leading company in the field of racing”, analyzes the former pilot.
Despite the good result achieved by the champion from Cervera , for Puig the race gave clear indications that Honda still has work ahead.
“The race was not as fast as we expected, but it was certainly a good show from the outside. We could see Marc’s spirit and possibilities on a track as demanding as Phillip Island. We just lacked a bit of speed, so we must and we have to take clear note of what we saw. Finally, it is clear that we must react”, Puig is self-critical.
Márquez surprised with the choice of the softest rear tire compound, the only rider on the MotoGP grid who opted for that option.
“Normally a special driver knows what he has to do and Marc knew what he was doing when he made that decision. Before the race it wasn’t a far-fetched choice, but it probably didn’t seem like the right one. From my point of view it wasn’t a surprise. “The rider knows what the best tire is and a special one like Marc knows even better. The Repsol Honda Team is very happy that he understood what he had to do.”
As usual, also, the other side of Honda’s performance was offered by the rest of the riders, with the unfortunate accident of Alex Márquez running over Jack Miller as a negative note.
“Alex had an accident and we are very sorry for Jack Miller. It was his home race and for that we are even more sorry for him, but we are also sorry for Alex because it was not his intention to cause the incident,” says Puig.
“Pol Espargaró was fast this weekend, but unfortunately he didn’t have the best race, it was difficult for him to recover after a difficult start. There were flashes in the performances of both that leave us satisfied”, concedes the HRC boss.
This week the World Cup continues with a new challenge in Malaysia, a circuit that Márquez has already warned that “we will suffer again”.
“Malaysia will not be easy, it will be very demanding on the engine, very different conditions to Australia. When you have a driver like Marc, who is getting back into form and is clearly a special driver, you can never leave him out of the equation. It will not be easy, but we will go there and see what happens. The most important thing is that he is improving his condition and Honda has to give him the tools to do what he is capable of doing.”
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