On the first day of free practice at Motegi Marc Marquez manages to hit the sixth time trial and continues the work on the new aluminum swingarm.
Marc Marquez returns to the track after a general smattering of the Aragon weekend. In the Spanish stage a week ago he had to forfeit after the first lap of the race, due to a double contact with Fabio Quartararo first and then Taka Nakagami. In Motegi, the goal to be achieved is to complete the race distance, but it will not be easy to tackle 24 consecutive laps at the Twin Ring.
The Japanese track is certainly more physical than the MotorLand, the rain here could be of great help, allowing him to save energy in case of wet on Saturday. Marc Marquez print the sixth time trial of the day and gain temporary direct access to Q2, even if at the end of the day the fatigue is felt: “I have a little pain in my arm, on this track I still feel that strength is lacking, here the braking is very, very long“.
Marc Marquez goal 24 laps
It is impossible to think of completing 24 laps of the race at a low 1’44 ”pace, but on this track there is Honda RC213V he manages to hide his flaws better. It does not require long cornering runs and does not require extreme degrees of inclination, which put the grip of the Japanese prototype in serious difficulty. “Tomorrow we will see what the goal will be depending on how I will feel upon waking up“.
There are no technical innovations in the house HRC, Marc Marquez here started with the same configuration as Aragon and continued the work on the aluminum frame of the Kalex which seems to have received the approval of the riders and technicians. “If it rains on Saturday, we have to decide with the team whether we will use the aluminum or carbon swingarm. But it’s more a question of quantity, because we have several carbon swingarms and more spare parts in case of a crash“.
This weekend, the test driver is also supporting the Honda riders Tetsuta Nagashima as a wild card, he is the fifth Honda rider to be in action at the Twin Ring in Motegi. What advice did the six-time champion give to the newcomer? “Have a good time! He is a test rider who has never raced in MotoGP. You can’t expect to finish in the top 10. Even a points result is difficult. So he just has to enjoy the GP without any pressure“. On his return to the pits Marc Marquez was dragged for a couple of meters by his bike, but fortunately no consequences for him.
Look out! 🧤 @ marcmarquez93 @HRC_MotoGP #JapaneseGP 🇯🇵 pic.twitter.com/yhoQMlamdd
– MotoGP ™ 🏁 (@MotoGP) September 23, 2022
