ROUND
19
23.10.2022
Marquez back on the limit
There are signs Marc Marquez is feeling more confident and comfortable since his fourmonth injury layoff . While still building up the muscle in his upper right arm and shoulder , as well as re-gaining his on-bike fitness , Marquez has been delighted to find a more natural riding position aboard his Honda RC213V in Thailand . He has also been able to push his bike to its absolute limits to find optimal braking markers and racing lines . “ Race by race I feel better and better ,” he said . “ Now on Fridays I feel that pushing . As you see on TV I start to play with the bike , I start to slide on the left corners , I start to shake on the braking points . It was a long time since I did this . Now step by step I started to get the connection with gas and this I like .”
Aleix : Mistakes happen
Less than a week on from the devastating mistake which ended his perfect 2022 point-scoring record in Japan , Aleix Espargaro explained a dinner of reconciliation with his Aprilia squad as they seek to maintain their slightly beleaguered title hopes with four races to play . The Catalan was forced to pit after the warm-up lap as an engineer forgot to remove the ‘ Eco ’ fuel map – used by riders to save fuel on their out-lap , which means the bike doesn ’ t rev above 5,000RPM – from his bike on the grid . It deprived him of the chance to fight for victory . Yet there was no ill-feeling in the Aprilia box upon arriving in Thailand . “ I went to Tokyo and on Monday I had dinner with my team – everybody – I love every single person on my team , and they were even more down than me . So , I ’ m the leader of this team and I said to them , ‘ Head up , it ’ s a mistake , everybody can make mistakes .’”
PETRONAS Grand Prix of Malaysia | 47