MotoGP: ‘Old Marquez’ might make a comeback in Oz

New MotoGP world champion Marc Marquez has admitted that ‘old Marquez’ might make a reappearance this weekend in Australia, now that the pressure of securing his third premiere class crown has been lifted.

Talking to MCN after Sunday’s dominant win at Honda’s home track of Motegi, the Spaniard jokingly admitted that now that the pressure is off, he might be more tempted to take a risk this coming weekend.

“Maybe he’ll come back a little, yes! Now, we have to be careful, and Phillip Island and Valencia are two circuits that I like a lot! Maybe we’ll get there and not be able to win, but the old style will come back a little bit!”

His 2016 season has been marked by the 23-year-old’s newfound maturity, settling for the first time in his career this season for podium places instead of crashing out of the race while pushing for wins that were perhaps unachievable to him thanks to the difficulties of the current RCV213 package, a factor that crew chief Santi Hernandez told MCN made all the difference.

“This year, we struggled quite a lot. We got a new engine, new electronics, new tyres at the start of the season, and for us it was hard to find the way, the path we have to follow. We never gave up though, working and working, and sure now the bike is a little bit different. You can see that because now Marc has started to race again more comfortably.

“He learned that when you crash a lot you lose many points, and then it’s difficult to arrive at the end of the season unable to fight for the title. He understands that now, and we’ve been so happy with how he’s worked.”