On Track Off Road No.183

Feature
“This situation is quite similar to the
one when I started in MotoGP in 2008
because at that time Valentino was in
the peak of his career,” he explained.
“He didn’t win in 2006 and 2007 but
he was fighting for the world title and
he knew the bike a lot so it is more
or less the same situation that I have
now.”
Marquez was always very complimentary
about Dani Pedrosa but there
was the feeling that he was aware his
dynamism, youth and abundant and
consistent speed gave him the advantage
over #26. Lorenzo is a new
kind of threat, one that is very close
to home. “When Dani was in the box it
was a completely different riding style
and Honda had enough potential to
have two different ways to improve the
bike,” he reasoned on the subject of
how Lorenzo’s renowned corner speed
could change the equilibrium of the
technical work. “But in the end when
you are riding fast all riders are asking
[for] the same and the most important
thing is that me, Jorge, Cal, we have
more-or-less the same problems on
the same areas. So this is the way to
work with all the team and try to improve
for 2019.”
Lorenzo has been critical of Marquez’s
aggression (most pointedly at Aragon
last summer) but he knows what he’s
up against. “I’d say he is phenomenal,
and I have a lot of things to learn from
him. So I come into the team with a lot
of happiness and proudness [sic] but
also a lot of humility to little-by-little
try and understand everything and try
to get results. Let’s see how it goes.”