Marquez: “I’m curious about the track surface”

All new asphalt at Sepang to greet the 2016 MotoGP™ World Champion

Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) was off the leash for the first time in Australia – and the newly-crowned World Champion sadly took a slide through the gravel and suffered his first DNF of the year. With the title already wrapped up and no injuries, however, Marquez is ready for the next challenge after taking the positives. After a pitstop in Indonesia for a promotional event, the new World Champion is now ready for Sepang: a track that proved a turning point in 2015. This year, the track has been fully resurfaced for better drainage and grip, and some kerbs and cambers have changed. With the work having been carried out after the pre-season test at the venue, the race weekend will prove a clean slate for everyone – and Marquez is curious to see how the changes have affected the modern classic of a venue.

Marc Marquez: “In Australia we tried to do a great race, but although we ultimately weren’t successful, we always look at the positives. In this case, I once again learned something and I’ll be more careful in similar situations in the future. When you feel good and are really enjoying the riding, the extra confidence you feel isn’t easy to control, but we’ll try. Now we are in Sepang, a track where we always test in February and therefore we know very well. Anyway, when we came here for the winter test, we were still struggling to find our direction with bike set-up. Moreover, soon after that test, they completely resurfaced the track. Therefore, we must wait and see how we will be able to manage this weekend. I’m very curious about the track, to see how much smoother the surface is now and how much faster it will allow us to lap.”