Marc Marquez believes hard work paying off on new Gresini Ducati bike - 'Progression was good'

Marc Marquez said he was pleased with his progress on his new Gresini Ducati bike following the final day of the Sepang MotoGP test.

The eight-time world champion swapped Repsol Honda after 11 years to join his brother Alex at Gresini Ducati for the start of the new season.

Reigning world champion Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati) and Jorge Martin (Prima Pramac) were the fastest riders in Malaysia, while Marquez was sixth fastest, almost six-tenths off the top.

Dedspite being a little off the pace, the 30-year-old believes hard work is paying off.

“You know, we work a lot these three days," he said. "Step by step, this was the key point.

“I mean, I never panicked, I was never nervous. I was just working in my garage.

"I knew that, for example, the first day and second day I was many times in 20th position, 19th. But I was super calm, just trying to understand the bike, trying to understand the things.

“In Valencia it’s true that it was a bit easier but here, as I expect, was harder to understand especially because it was one of the worst circuits in the calendar for me. For some reason it has always been slow.

“But apart from that, progression was good during the weekend.”

The 2024 MotoGP season starts in Qatar at the Lusail International Circuit on March 8, followed by the Portuguese GP later in the month.

There will be a record 22 races in a year that MotoGP celebrates the 75th anniversary of motorcycle Grand Prix racing, with all the action live on TNT Sports.

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