New Repsol Honda rider Pol Espargaro was the top RCV rider in both Losail races, finishing 8th and 13th respectively.
But the time gap to the top was better than those results look, with Espargaro +5.990s from Maverick Vinales in race one, then +6.063s to the other factory Yamaha of Fabio Quartararo in race two.
Espargaro’s race time improved by 4.593s during the second race to effectively match the rate of improvement by the winner, despite two mistakes at Turn 1.
“Despite some mistakes, running off track twice, Pol Espargaro finished only six-seconds from the winner and just four-seconds from the top five,” said Repsol Honda team manager Alberto Puig.
“When Espargaro ran wide at the first corner for the second time… we knew the GP was over for us. We were expecting and aiming to catch the group ahead of us and at this point Pol was only 2.6 seconds from the leader.”
That equates to +0.141s per lap, over a 22-lap race distance.
“The potential is there,” said Puig.
“The difference is not big, we are not trying to close a gap of 20 seconds. There are some smaller areas to work on, to put everything in place together and then we will be there.”
It’s impossible to know how much of the Honda deficit a recovering Marquez might have been able to bridge if he had made his comeback in Qatar, but he has been the top RCV rider at Losail ever since his 2013 premier-class debut, in an average of third place.
Source: crash.net