Reigning MotoGP World Champion Marc Marquez has completed his first test on a motorbike since undergoing surgery on his left shoulder in December, but admits his shoulder is proving “problematic”.
Marquez suffered a dislocated left shoulder early last year during training, which became a recurring injury across the 2018 campaign, and ultimately required a “complicated” operation in December.
On Tuesday, Marquez took to a circuit in Alcarras in Spain on a Honda NSF100 mini bike for his first laps on a motorcycle since his operation, and says how his “problematic” shoulder reacted was “pretty much as expected”.
“I needed this, I touched my elbow on the ground,” he said.
“Riders in general need to have their minds clear. At least on the trip to Malaysia, which is 14 hours long, I will be thinking I have ridden a bike, got on the brakes, felt the throttle and the clutch.
“We have done a few laps that have helped me to see where things are. This week we have to work on it.
“It was pretty much what I expected, the large force under braking – especially left-handers, where I have to support my left shoulder was problematic.
“That is where we have to continue working, have patience in Malaysia and get to March at full fitness.”
Marquez's new Honda team-mate Jorge Lorenzo will be absent from next week's Sepang test, after a he broke his left scaphoid in a dirt bike training accident just day before HRC's official launch presentation last month.
Official HRC test rider Stefan Bradl will join Marquez for the February 6-8 test, having already completed three days of running at Sepang on the RC213V in the shakedown.
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