The documentary about Marc Marquez’s 2016 season – called ´From Cervera to Tokyo’ – has its premiere in Barcelona this morning. Marquez, his team, and some of those involved in the making of the Dorna-produced documentary will be there – including the director, Sergi Sendra, and the screenwriter, Ruben Fernandez.
In the film, different members of Marquez’ team explain for the first time the full scale of their preseason difficulties in 2016 as they tried to adapt the RC213V to the changes in the electronics and tyres introduced to the premier class last season. The Technical Director of HRC, Takeo Yokoyama, admits how far behind the Japanese factory was compared to their key rivals: “It wasn’t just an issue with Marc, but also with Dani and our satellite team riders.” Even Dani Pedrosa, Marquez’ teammate, recognises they “knew and realised that the electronics weren’t going to be perfect” but “didn’t imagine they would be so far behind.”
After the second day of testing in Qatar – the event that precedes the first race of the season – the three key HRC riders (Marquez, Pedrosa and Crutchlow) explain that they called a meeting to ask for a change of course to iron out the development of the RC213V. Yokoyama says they “complained a lot about the new engine, and the new bike” and that from that point forward the decision was taken to go back to the 2015 engine. “I was sat watching in my chair,” explains Marquez, “when Santi told them at 11pm that the next day we’d try the 2015 engine. One mechanic went white, another threw a tool across the room…” After that moment of crisis, the source of the problem was found and a solution good enough to allow the bike to be definitively competitive with the 2016 engine was found.
Furthermore, the documentary also reflects the two distinct worlds that cohabit in Marquez’ pitbox – latin improvisation and Japanese precision. A perfect cocktail that has led the rider from Cervera to his fifth World Title – three in MotoGP™, one in Moto2™ and his first in the 125 World Championship.