speed on corner exit remains a
priority.
On the other side of the ga-
rage, Miller admitted, "we hit a
wall a bit" on day three. "I'm just
suffering mid-corner, with corner
speed, and getting the thing off
the corner."
HONDA
There was no dressing up how
disastrous 2022 was for Honda.
Marquez and new teammate
Joan Mir were therefore entitled
to expect big changes here. Both
were disappointed.
HRC brought a new engine,
which had a higher top speed
than what it used in '22. But the
RC213V's major deficits remain,
with Marquez complaining he
still feels far from comfortable
when braking to enter the corner.
And they remain miles off Ducati
on corner exit. "More than the
front I'm looking for the connec
-
tion with the gas on the exit of
the corner," Marquez said.
There were some puzzling as
-
pects of Honda's approach here.
Like, why were Marquez and test
rider Stefan Bradl riding at one
point on Sunday without wings?
Plus, an "experimental" third bike
featured some old components,
like the swingarm. If HRC was
looking backward for solutions,
it suggested there may still be
some confusion about how to
get ahead.
Positives included new Tech
-
nical Manager Ken Kawauchi,
formerly of Suzuki, bringing a
better organization to affairs
than before. Marquez also spoke
of his physical condition being
greatly improved compared to
the previous five preseasons.
But Honda appears as far from
the top as they were in the
autumn of last year. Big improve
-
ments are drastically required.
Neil Morrison
2023 Sepang MotoGP Test
1. Luca Marini (Duc) 1:57.889
2. Francesco Bagnaia (Duc) +0.080s
3. Maverick Vinales (Apr) +0.147s
4. Enea Bastianini (Duc) +0.260s
5. Jorge Martin (Duc) +0.315s
VOLUME ISSUE FEBRUARY , P47
Jack Miller was
pragmatic about
his position but
highlighted some
good work done
by KTM.
