Breaking news
MotoGP Sepang February testing
Marquez felt "worse than expected" on Honda MotoGP return
Reigning MotoGP champion Marc Marquez says he felt "worse than expected" returning to his Honda bike after surgery.
Valentin Khorounzhiy
Edited: Feb 8, 2020, 4:17 AM
Copy link
Share on Viber
Marquez, who romped to the 2019 title despite having his preparations for the season compromised by recovery from surgery on his left shoulder, has had his right shoulder operated on in November.
Though he is in less pain than he had been at this point last year, the second surgery left him with damage to the deltoid muscle, and he is yet to build up sufficient muscle mass to feel strong enough on the bike.
"I already expected [to struggle] before riding the bike - but when I rode the bike the first time in the first run, I felt worse than what I expected," said Marquez after sampling the Honda on the first day of Sepang testing.
"Especially the position on the bike, was difficult to use the elbow on the corner.
"Then step by step I started to use [the elbow] - but I started in the first run with a good energy, but then immediately when I stopped in the box, I went to [1m]59[s], but when I stopped in the box I felt like we need to slow down, step by step, be patient."
Marquez, who surpassed his target of 30-35 laps with 37 on the opening day, says he will aim for 45 on day two and will just look to "survive" in Sunday's final session.
On Friday, he was 12th, 0.731s off pace-setter Fabio Quartararo.
"What I learned last year, here in Malaysia test, what I will do, is I need to be patient and forget the screens, forget the laptimes, try to ride, try to find my best.
"I'm not ready to be fast. Now if it's a race distance, sure I will not finish the race - but we will see if tomorrow if I will feel better and third day better, this is the main target.
"It's true that now I need to be patient. The most important is to find a good base, and the Qatar race is still one month to go, still we have one test in Qatar [before that], so [we need to] be patient and keep calm."
Marquez's new teammate - his Moto2 championship-winning brother Alex - was just one place and a quarter of a second slower on Friday.
He said he was further along in his adaptation to MotoGP than he'd expected, and that he'd made a clear "progression" from the shakedown runs earlier this month.
Additional reporting by Oriol Puigdemont
Alex Marquez, Repsol Honda Team
Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article Quartararo tops first day of Sepang MotoGP test
Next article "Unbelievable" new Aprilia like 2014 Forward Yamaha
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Valentin Khorounzhiy
WTCR's April opener cancelled due to coronavirus
WTCR
WTCR
Hungaroring
WTCR's April opener cancelled due to coronavirus
Australian GP issues update on nine F1 paddock coronavirus tests
Formula 1
Formula 1
Australian GP
Australian GP issues update on nine F1 paddock coronavirus tests
Motorsport Games unveils 15 disciplines for 2020
General
General
Motorsport Games unveils 15 disciplines for 2020
More from
Marc Marquez
Marc Marquez will have to perform his "juggling act" in coming MotoGP races, says Alex
MotoGP
MotoGP
Indonesian GP
Marc Marquez will have to perform his "juggling act" in coming MotoGP races, says Alex
Pedro Acosta: "I'm going to Ducati to learn from Marc Marquez, not to beat him on same bike"
MotoGP
MotoGP
Indonesian GP
Pedro Acosta: "I'm going to Ducati to learn from Marc Marquez, not to beat him on same bike"
More from
Honda HRC
MotoGP to fine riders €5,000 for failing to attend promotional events
MotoGP
MotoGP
Indonesian GP
MotoGP to fine riders €5,000 for failing to attend promotional events
Aleix Espargaro withdraws from the Indonesian GP and focuses on Malaysia 850cc test
MotoGP
MotoGP
Indonesian GP
Aleix Espargaro withdraws from the Indonesian GP and focuses on Malaysia 850cc test
Honda “super bad” in Indonesian GP practice after falling behind 2025 pace
MotoGP
MotoGP
Indonesian GP
Honda “super bad” in Indonesian GP practice after falling behind 2025 pace
Latest news
GT2 European: Maserati ends on a high note at Portimao, with titles for Hartling/Thilenius and Gialdini/Njor
Sponsored
Sponsored
Portimão
1 h
GT2 European: Maserati ends on a high note at Portimao, with titles for Hartling/Thilenius and Gialdini/Njor
Inside the competition building F1’s future engineering talent
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
United States GP
2 h
Inside the competition building F1’s future engineering talent
Toyota clinches 2026 NASCAR Cup manufacturer championship early after dominant season
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Phoenix II
9 h
Toyota clinches 2026 NASCAR Cup manufacturer championship early after dominant season
Tyler Reddick really needed NASCAR Phoenix win for several reasons
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Phoenix II
9 h
Tyler Reddick really needed NASCAR Phoenix win for several reasons
Feature
Discover prime content
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe