Sunday was a great day for Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) as he battled his way to second place but it proved there’s still room to improve. One of Marquez’s biggest weaknesses in 2016 has been corner exit, Honda testing new electronics settings and a new exhaust to help improve power delivery. A new chassis, which Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda Team) had run during the weekend, also awaited Marquez. Some positives were found and it was felt that at least some progress was made. The gap of two weeks between the Catalan GP and the Motul TT Assen will give Honda engineers back in Japan a chance to analyze the test data and improve the chassis further.
It wasn’t a faultless test as Marquez fell in the afternoon at Turn 5, uninjured but unable to test all of the new Michelin rear tyres. Even with the fall Marquez completed 77 laps to end eighth overall.
Marc Marquez: “Today I tried out a lot of things, including a chassis and some electronics solutions, and overall, we’ve taken a small step forward today. You always gather a lot of information in a test, which can help you to move forward in the future. With what we’ve learned today, Honda will be able to make their analysis and apply it to the new chassis. The chassis that I tested today was better in some parts of the track, but in others it isn’t entirely suited to my style, so we have to continue working. We have two races coming up at tracks where I’ve always felt very comfortable, so I’m optimistic with that in mind. There are also two weeks between each of them, giving us time to seek further improvements.”