MotoGP: HRC debut new chassis at Catalunya test

The Repsol Honda squad of Marc Marquez and Dani Pedrosa have rolled out a new chassis for the RCV213 machine, taking to the track for a one-day test following the weekend’s race at Barcelona’s Montmelò circuit.

Speaking after completing nearly 80 laps – despite crashes for both him and teammate Pedrosa – Marquez says that they’re working towards a solution to the problems that have plagued them since the start of the season.

“Today I tried out a lot of things, including a chassis and some electronics solutions, and overall, we’ve taken a small step forward today. You always gather a lot of information in a test, which can help you to move forward in the future. With what we’ve learned today, Honda will be able to make their analysis and apply it to the new chassis.

“The chassis that I tested today was better in some parts of the track, but in others it isn’t entirely suited to my style, so we have to continue working. We have two races coming up at tracks where I’ve always felt very comfortable, so I’m optimistic with that in mind. There are also two weeks between each of them, giving us time to seek further improvements.”

Pedrosa, who hinted earlier in the weekend that he had ran some of the parts en route to third place in Sunday’s race, was also pleased with the progress they made in the area where they need the most help – corner exit.

“We tested various things today, especially with the chassis and a few setups for the electronics and engine to improve our corner exits. Some things we tested worked well and others weren’t yet as good as expected but they gave us more ideas because anyway we’ve found a few positives. We’ll try to keep working with the future in mind; first of all we’re looking at the short term, which is the next race at Assen.

“There, we’ll try to use some of the feedbacks that we took from today’s test, to see if they work at that track and the coming circuits. Unfortunately I had a crash at midday that meant I could only continue testing with one bike, and I wasn’t able to do many more laps.”