When MotoGP made its last big technical s🌳witch in 2016 - from Bridgestone to Michelin tyres and a standard ECU - Marc Marquez was on the podium in the opening Qatar race and won next time in COTA.

That perhaps puts some perspective on the magnitude of the changes made to the Honda RC213V this season, a bike that Marquez 🐻says is "so different from previous years, it's almost like I changed🌌 manufacturer.

"It is c☂ompletely different, but without a doubt, we wiꦚll work to adapt. It's a new challenge."

Marquez's hurdles are not just technical of course, having battled serious arm, sh🤡oulder and eye injuries for the past two seasons. But it was still a surprise to see a Repsol Honda rider without the #93 leading for lap after lap at last Sunday's season-opener.

Pol Espargaro equalled his podium tally from the whole of 2021 with an eventual third place at Lusail, just 1.4s from Gresini Ducati𒈔 race winner ♓Enea Bastianini with KTM's Brad Binder in-between.

Marquez meanwhile was forced to settle for fifth, meaning a rare team-mate defeat without some kind of⭕ incident, 🅷injury or weather interruption coming into play.

"I didn't have any♎ problems about physical condition, I didn't feel pain. Just there were four riders faster than us," Marquez admitted on Sunday evening.

Instead, it's adapting to the new rear-gr♑i💦p orientated RCV that is holding Marquez back.

"We are discovering di🐼fferent things with this new bike, and since I started at the first test we improved, especially at Mandalika," he said.

"[In Qatar] we didn't touch the bike a lot, because it was the first race and I don't want to lose the༺ way. We just concentrated on the racing line and tyres. And in Mandalika we will continue that process to adapt the bike to my riding style."

Marquez's biggest issue at present was clearly visible when he repeatedly ran wide in Lusail; this year's rearward shift in grip means he can't attack into corners like he used to, while Espargaro 168澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果历史:is able෴ to use much more rear br෴ake.

"It's a big change, the way to ride the bike is different, but th🐼e potential is there," Marquez said.

The front-end problem i🍸s also why Marquez, unlike Espargaro, does not have the aerodynamic side pods on his homologated fairing.

"I'm pushing ꧂the front a lot already, ꧅if I put those, I'm pushing even more," he said.

"But this doesn't make the differe𒊎nce. Where we need to find the difference is to try to understand the front.

"Mandalika wil꧟l be better – better in terms of the result I don't know, but it will be easier to understand things, because you can work in the morning an♏d in the afternoon sessions.

"Here in Qatar it was mo꧅re difficult and this is also a very special circuit, so now we will understand more in Mandalika, Argentina and Austin where we are."

But the 29-year-old made clear: "The pressure is always on because my goal is to fight for the World Championship... I think consiste📖ncy is🌞 going to be key this year."

The good news for Marquez is that he still left Qatar havinꦫg outscored fellow pre-season title favourites such as reigning champion Fabio Quartararo (ninth), 2020 champion Joan Mir (sixth) and title runner-up Francesco Bagnaia (DNF).