Moto2: Marquez concentrates on cornering

Fresh from ending a 25-race Moto2 win drought at Le Mans, Alex Marquez spent last week's private test at Barcelona working on improving his corner entry and corner speed with the Marc VDS Kalex.

A new swingarm and linkage, plus Ohlins front fork, were on offer for the Spaniard, who completed 134 laps of his home circuit over the two days.

“It has been a very positive test. We tried a lot of things, some gave us confirmation of positive improvements and others didn’t work, but this is normal in testing," said Marquez, who also worked on his position on the bike.

"It is important to try a lot of things to make sure everything is clear when we return for the race here next month. I’m happy with my feeling on the bike at this track because I always enjoy riding here a lot.

"Now I’m looking forward to Mugello where we have clear ideas how we can be fast and strong again like in Le Mans. We go to Italy 100% motivated after this positive test.”

Marquez is currently fourth in the world championship, 14 points from Lorenzo Baldassarri (Kalex).

Older brother and MotoGP champion Marc hopes that a return to the top step will boost Alex's confidence for the races ahead.

"It was a tough moment for Alex [before the win]. I always say it’s not easy to be 'the brother of…' or 'the son of…' because always you have extra pressure," Marc said.

"He was always very motivated and believed in himself because he was fast, but something always happened [when he was fighting for the win] and the other days he was not on the pace.

"A year and a half later he won again. It's important because this year he’s riding in a very good way, so he needs to keep going like this. Of course, it’s only one race. It doesn’t change a lot. But sometimes you need this extra [winning] confidence to change your mentality."

Alex, the 2014 Moto3 world champion, in his fifth season of Moto2.