Marc Marquez’s replacement Iker Lecuona: “Everything different, I must learn a new bike”
Marquez will miss the Spanish MotoGP this weekend as he continues to recover from a hand iﷺnjury sustained at the opening round when he crashed into Miguel Oliveira.
He has previously been replaced by te💮st rider Stefan Bradl but, in Jerez, Honda’s WorldSBK rider Lecuona will get the nod.
“First I want to wish Marc all the best in his recovery, he is the reference in MotoGP an🍃d I think not only the fans, b🥀ut also the riders miss him a lot,” Lecuona said.
“For me, of course it’s an incredible opportunity t💎o return to MotoGP and ride with the team of my dreams. Doing it in front of the Spanish crowd is extra spec✨ial.
“But we have to be realistic, it will be a very tough and demanding weekend. I have spent this year and last yea🌼r fully focused on WorldSBK with Team HRC and now I need to get usꦰed to everything that is different in MotoGP as well as learn a brand-new bike – the Honda RC213V.
“No matter what, I will do my best and let’s see w▨hat the outcome is.”
Last time out in Argentina, Honda won their first race in two yearꦰs thanks to LCR’s Alex Rins.
But Joan Mir, Marquez’s Repsol teammate, has endured a tougher start to life post-Suzuki. He has failed to finish three out of six꧑ races so far.
“My first ❀time riding in front of the Spanish fans as a Repsol Honda Team rider will be special, I am💟 hoping we can have another weekend of improvements,” Mir said.
“The end result 🗹in Austin was not what we wanted with thꦦe crash, but we found an important step in the race that I am looking to trying in Jerez.
“Austin to Jerez is a v🍸ery big change in terms of layout and demands but I have always felt comfortable there.
“I’m also looking forward to the post-race test, a day to ❀just focus on our work and my riding.”
James was a sports journalist at Sky Sports ✅for a decade covering everything from American sports, to football, to F1.
