MARQUEZ TO MISS PRE-SEASON TEST

Marc Marquez to miss pre-season test – Images: Supplied

The factory Honda MotoGP bike was revealed overnight and was the first time that the injured Marc Marquez has made a public appearance since July last year, Marquez admitted that while he is on the mend, he won’t be ready for the pre-season test.

By DAN McCARTHY

The iconic Repsol Honda bike looks very similar to normal, but after a disastrous season Marquez and his new teammate Pol Espargaro will try and get the Orange machines back up the front.

In the opening race of the 2020 season at Jerez, Marquez crashed out and damaged his arm ruling him out for the remainder of the season.

Marquez explained that he is on the mend but will not recover in time to take part in the pre-season test at Qatar in less than a month.

“Step by step I feel much better and the recovery is going in a good way, this most important,” Marquez said.

“I cannot say (when I will return) because I don’t know, and the doctors don’t know when I will be ready.

“But the most important thing is that every week, I feel a bit better and I’m optimistic to be on the bike as soon as possible. But I don’t know I don’t know exactly which day it will be.

“We will see if it takes one race, two races, half the season to be the same Marc. I will not be at the Qatar test as I aim to return only when I am 100% and there is still some work to do.”

Marquez admitted that last season was hard, watching his brother Alex race alongside the Honda Racing Corporation (HRC) test rider Stefan Bradl.

The team finished a lowly ninth in the Teams’ Championship and scored two podiums, it was also the first time that Repsol Honda has gone winless since 2004.

“Of course, I would have liked to return sooner, but it is very important to listen to the doctors and my body until I am fully fit, Marquez said.

“The first time that I will ride the bike, I will not be 100%, because, one thing is, being 100% in the bone side, and then be 100% in the muscles and all these things and we will see.

“Normally the goal for a rider is to try to win the championship and try to find small details to fight for the championship, but 2021 is completely different,” he explained.

“My main goal is to try to enjoy it again on the bike, this will be the main target for me. Then, step by step, start to be fast as I was.”

Marquez’s new teammate is long-time rival and good mate Espargaro, the fellow Spaniard moves from the factory KTM squad with which he earnt five podiums last season and expects to be fighting up front in 2021.

“To ride for the Repsol Honda Team is every rider’s dream and something to be truly proud of,” Espargaro said.

“The excitement is motivating me to train more and be the best I can be for the 2021 World Championship. I am here in the Repsol Honda Team in order to achieve success and fight at the top, this is the goal for 2021.”

In recent days, the satellite Honda outfit LCR Honda revealed its liveries, with Alex Marquez and Takaaki Nakagami running vastly different paint jobs.

The factory Yamaha and KTM squads also revealed their liveries as well as the customer KTM team Tech3.

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