Same bike but different colors. 2021 will be the transition for Alex Marquez from the official Honda team to the satellite team of Lucio Cecchinello. A decision made before the start of the season, in which Alex surprised everyone by making it onto the podium twice. The only Honda rider to do this.
Results for which he theoretically deserved confirmation in the field, but the decision had already been made. However, Marquez – who spoke after launching Honda’s 2021 sports programs – didn’t want to enter into controversy.
“I really understand the situation Honda has gotten into. Contracts are awarded even faster in MotoGP and Covid has made everything more difficult,” he said. “When they made that decision, I knew everything was normal. In the end, my contract with them won’t change, and I don’t think I’ll take a step back. If anything, one to the side. In LCR I will be able to have the experience that I am still missing and I am happy. As crew chief, I’ll have Beefy and everyone is talking good about him, while my telemetrician will be David Garcia, who I’ve worked with in Moto2. I already know all the technicians. One lives ten minutes from my house, and I think I have less pressure on a satellite team and that will help me in my growth process.”
Nakagami will be at his side and no longer his brother Marc, with whom he was only able to share the garage for one Grand Prix in the end. The question is, can he beat him?
“I don’t know if I’ll make it. He is the best rider. In recent years he has always been one step ahead of everyone. I’ve always said: ‘If he had been on the track in Aragon too, I wouldn’t be second, I would be third,’ ”he admitted. “Many say we are very different when it comes to horse riding and in fact it looks like this on TV. He’s more aggressive and I’m calmer. However, if you look at the data, you can see that we are pretty much alike.”
Alex stated several times that the turning point of his season was the Misano test between the two races.
“At that moment I leaned towards Mark’s style“He specified. “I modified the bike so that it was faster in tight corners, even if it got more critical when it was breaking in. It took self-confidence to take this step, but it was a breath of fresh air. “
We saw the results with the podiums at Le Mans and Aragon.
“It was a result that the whole team needed at a difficult moment after what happened to Marc,” he continued. “I think it was a positive season, especially the second part. I’m just sorry that I wasn’t able to try MotoGP on all of the routes on the normal calendar. “
Maybe you can do that in 2021, but what do you expect from the next season?
“I’m not ready to fight for the title yet“, He said and played it safe. “I’m not at that level yet. My goal is to improve and be more consistent in order to stay in the top ten or eight in all races. We also need to develop the bicycle. The priority is to be able to use the power of the engine. This year we lost acceleration on some tracks. We have to use all potential. I’m happy for the rest. “