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Third quickest time, in the dry, in the morning, flatters to deceive: Marc Marquez despite having stopped the clock just over a tenth from the provisional poleman, Brad Binder, is far from satisfied with the bike and its performance.
The reality, as he has already said on more than one occasion, is that rather than worrying about the final result, his goal in this definitive return to action is to develop the Honda in view of 2023.
"Today we used our experience. We got third time thanks to the fact that I put on a soft tyre in the first free practice, which few riders did. Some of them put medium tyres, new tyres ... but we used our experience because here in Malaysia, even if the forecasts say it won't rain, it can rain in the afternoon. We are in the top three, but in terms of race pace I think we are even further away than in the last races. Let's say we have between the 8th and 10th times, in pace. We still have a long way to go. There are times when we need to do a little more and this weekend is one of those in which we have to work if we want to get an acceptable result "
Then Marc explained in more detail the problems he is finding.
“One of the most important points, apart from the usual things, engine, acceleration, is the way you have to ride this bike. I don't know how, but it feels very heavy. You have to understand why I notice that inertia: on circuits where you flow, like Phillip Island, it's less noticeable. But here we suffer more. I don't know what the other riders think. Not good for me. We need to understand why, but today with the weather conditions we were unable to do all the tests we needed, so tomorrow if I have to sacrifice my position at the start to do more tests, I will do so. "
It is the character of this Honda that Marquez does not like.
“My position is the same as always, but the character of this year's bike is worse for my riding style. But it is the one we chose because for this year it was better. I'm third, but it's not a real position; I'm having a hard time. I'm third because we're pulling from experience. We need to understand why. At Phillip Island I did a good race, but the bike moves a lot and is difficult to ride ”.
From the first tests at Misano to its debut of Aragon, the Honda hasn't really changed much.
"The only change was the aerodynamics and the swingarm, but those are small things, in Thailand in FP1 I did the best time with the carbon one. But we have to understand the bike, when there is little grip, which was one of my strengths, I can't make a difference. We need to have a consistent bike on all tracks, as Ducati is currently. In the past they were only strong on some circuits now they are strong on all. That is the goal".
With Bagnaia fighting for the title, Marc was surprised to find him outside the top ten.
"I am surprised that Pecco did not put on a soft tyre, but more than anything else I was surprised by his time with used tyres, he went really fast".
FP2 was wet and partially dry.
"Yes, but I didn't ride well, I get tired on the bike in both dry and wet conditions, in both cases I'm not satisfied, but we know where I'm losing. We must continue to work to improve. These conditions made us understand that Sepang is a track that requires you to push hard. In the first free practice session we tested new aerodynamic elements and we didn't do badly in terms of lap times. If the weather is good, maybe we will continue to use them. "
