Miguel Oliveira in an eye-catch-
ing fourth fastest for his new RNF
Aprilia team—it made no improve-
ments to settings with the limited
parts tested.
"With testing so limited, this
was a missed opportunity,"
lamented Espargaro to Spanish
broadcaster DAZN at the end of
play.
But the day's major storyline
was what happened in the Rep-
sol Honda box. Marc Marquez
was less than impressed with
HRC's new RC213V and report-
edly cut short his day early to
make a point to the Japanese
engineers.
"Not a big difference," said the
frustrated Catalan on Tuesday af-
ternoon. "I had a bit more feeling
in the front but then we are losing
in other areas. The lap times with
both bikes was very similar, so in
the end, the performance on the
time was very similar."
With Honda finishing sixth and
last in the 2022 Manufacturer's
Championship, there was a hope
the factory would bring major
changes to help Marquez ride in
a manner he is comfortable with.
Instead, he was left to conclude
that with what HRC has currently
developed, it won't be enough to
fight for next year's crown.
"I always expect more but it
was not there," he said. "But
the most important thing is that
Honda is working, and we know
that they are working more for
February than now. I will expect
a bigger step in February at the
Malaysia test.
"I cannot say I am disappoint-
ed because Honda is working,
and they are trying, and they
bring a new bike, but we need
more if we want to fight for a
championship. With the one that
we receive here—we will not fight
for a championship."
He ended the day 13th, while
Honda's new men Joan Mir
(18th) and Alex Rins (20th) were
well off the pace.
There were similarly con-
cerned faces in the Yamaha box.
Both Fabio Quartararo and Fran-
co Morbidelli had lauded a new,
faster '23 engine they tested at
Misano in September. Yet that
same engine was in no way an
improvement on what they raced
VOLUME 59 ISSUE 46 NOVEMBER 15, 2022 P25
Things are not going well
in the Repsol Honda camp.
Marc Marquez isn't pleased
with his new RC213V.
Former World Champ
Fabio Quartararo wasn't
impressed with the
Yamaha engine.
