Marc Marquez is looking to erase the memory of his disappointing weekend in Qatar at this weekend’s Grand Prix of the Americas. The world champion could only manage fifth in round one after sliding off on the first lap but having won comfortably on both visits to Austin, Marquez is hopeful of returning to winning ways on Sunday.
“I’m really looking forward to getting to Austin and putting Qatar behind us. The Circuit of The Americas is one of my favourite circuits and I have good memories of taking my first win in the MotoGP class, back in 2013, and also winning there last year. We need to work hard from FP1 and then keep this momentum for the whole weekend and have a ‘normal’ race. I’m really sorry for Dani, myself and the whole team wish him a speedy recovery. We welcome Hiroshi to the team and will help him how we can!”
Marquez will be partnered at Repsol Honda by Hiroshi Aoyama with Dani Pedrosa on the sidelines following arm surgery. Aoyama has spent the winter testing Honda’s production-spec RS213V-RS and knows he will need to learn quickly on board the factory prototype machine.
“I’ve very sorry for Dani’s situation, I know how demanding it is to ride a MotoGP machine and with the problem he had, it’s a great job to finish sixth in Qatar! I would like to thank HRC for asking me to stand in for Dani in Austin, I will do my best and hope to enjoy this experience with the Repsol Honda Team. The Austin track is very demanding and technical, each session will be important to learn the bike and get to know the team, but I am looking forward to being there and racing in the USA with the MotoGP riders. I wish Dani a fast recovery and that he can return on track soon.”
