"The priority is to continue at Honda"

On Thursday at the Catalan GP Media Day, Alex Marquez will work as an ambassador for Estrella Galicia 0,0, just before his brother Mark, on the other side of the Atlantic, has surgery on his right arm. .. He is not afraid of self-criticism, and it is a considerable gift of these times. After winning two world titles on his MotoGP stage, he had to face one of the worst times for Honda. And at FP4 this Saturday, it was proved again by a cold crash at high speed.

[+] Watch the full video interview here:

After 8 GPs, Portimao’s 7th place is the best result. You have 20 points, but you haven’t achieved the regular Top 8. What kind of balance do you have?

Not only me but the Honda team is suffering. The situation is not easy. Just checking the constructor classification didn’t make me feel better. You can see where the problem is, but with a brand new prototype where the parameters are, it’s even harder to solve the problem. Different you can escape more. I continue to insist, I am Taurus and stubborn. Last year we took a very important step from the middle of the season, but we can do the same this year. Testing here is key, and after a break Silverstone will also have more time to work in the factory. But if there is a factory that could turn that situation around, it’s Honda.

Before the season, with the new concept of the Honda 2022 and the rear grip you claimed, you seemed to be in the competition, but still the opposite, going into the curve and turning it. But there are many problems. happened?

I was optimistic with my feet on the ground, and I said, waiting for a normal GP with less grip and at the Mandarica test I started seeing something ahead and in Qatar There was something there, I didn’t feel good about it anymore I struggled at the same point as last year, but last year the front was better, the rear grip wasn’t enough and this year is exactly the opposite. You can do the front and rear halves of the bike with a magic wand, but it’s not possible because the concept is different.

When did you get lost because of the repeated history of 2021?

When you make such a new prototype, you dive into the pool, you don’t know what it will be. It hasn’t improved since last year, and to name a few specific keys, it’s very different from the prototype test from Jerez to Malaysia, with many changes, a little loss of course, and few. I didn’t know the points in the pre-season, so I understood.

Mark has detected a problem, but you lost him again for a long time, and now who marks the development?

Honda was created by three of us, we are Honda pilots and Bradl as testers. It is very important for three people to generate comments. Without the mark, it’s time to push harder to take a step forward. Not lost.

“We noticed that many changes were made from the prototype of the test from Jerez to Malaysia, where the course was also lost a bit and the points were not understood.”

Do you think about changes in the landscape after two and a half years, or do you prioritize continuing?

The priority is to continue with Honda. The factory with the most potential and resources in MotoGP gave me the confidence to go up in MotoGP and believed in me. My mission has not been fulfilled. He told me why Moto2 doesn’t do that. Will it go up? And while my mission was to win, here in MotoGP, my mission to be competitive and enjoyable has not yet been fulfilled. Good results were obtained in the first year, showing that I have the potential. The priority is to continue where I am.

With two less bikes next year, Mercato closed later than usual in recent years and is still endangering your future. How much pressure is it?

Please press no. Riders can only speak on the track and get good results. It’s your future and you don’t mind not knowing where to go next year. The working spirit gives me 100% as much as I can, so you know in you that you give everything and are calm. Give it a try I’ve tried it, it’s fallen, it’s calm and the results need to be easier.

“I already told Mark to have surgery to lighten it (laughs). He went out … I don’t listen to him, and our coach tells him I went somewhere to put up with it. “

Mark was Mugello and said his personality changed with pain and he paid for it himself. You who signed up for the first time in your life at the time and went to Madrid with him.

I already told him to have surgery and lighten it (laughs), when you feel pain you went to the gym and I was able to do some exercise, and he can’t was. Yes, we are brothers, but in the end they are rivals, and if your rivals could train a little more, he couldn’t do push-ups and he had those exits … his To hear what our coach says and put up with him.

And you in Mugello said that Mark was suffering but not even a quarter was seen. Do you know him better than anyone else and are you approaching where he throws a towel?

Throw away itself … especially after an eye injury in November, it had the most serious crisis, and after Mandarica, he also feels pain and it’s not easy to look double again was. Very noisy.

Should I send him a message of strength and encouragement?

Is it strength? If the last thing he sent to me before surgery was a photo run and he told me: Look at the rhythm I made! .. He doesn’t need power or encouragement, he’s there.