Repsol Honda team manager Alberto Puig acknowledged that reducing the highside ri🌃sk was ‘very important’ since it is not only a matter of performance but safety.

“We have been working a lot during the winter in Japan and with the European groups, and this is one topic where we have to improve and where we are focussed,” Puig sa🐷id.

“Obviously not just to arrive to a [competitive] bike, but what you are tal🐭king about is an area of safety that we know is very important and clearly we are looking at it.”

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Marquez, who suffered another episode of diplopia due to a huge highside in Indonesia early last season, said he had already noticed a significant improvement in rea🔥r grip consistency on his return from arm surgery at the end of last year.

The eight-time world champion also had no ‘scares’ at the r♏ecent Sepang test but cautioned that the real ‘test’ will c🦋ome during a grand prix weekend, with less rubber on the track.

“As Alberto said, we are all working in the same direction: a bike t🍒hat is fast, competitive and at the same time safe,” Marquez said.

“In th🍃e five races af🍨ter I returned from injury there had been a change in this philosophy and it was not the same bike that I left to have my arm operation [in June].

"In Malaysia, it was🗹 pretty good and I didn’t have any scares but then there is not always a warning when this happ🦩ens!

“The real picture for me and the team will come during the Grands Prix beca𒀰use in the tests there is a lot of rubber on track, you ride differently and have a lot of time on track.

"Yes, [the tests] serve to try technical things but not really to understand exactlꦅy the level of where we are.”

N🥂ew team-mate Joan Mir, arriving at Honda from Suzuki, said he had plenty of confidence in the rear grip.

“In Sepang, I did not see a big pr🌜oblem with confidence in this area,” said Mir. “As was said, Honda have been working for improvement in this direction and I cannot say it was a big problem.”