Former MotoGP World Champion Marc Marquez has warned that a bad weekend in this year’s championship no longer means a fourth-place finish and says that anything less than perfect preparation could see top riders in the wrong end of the top ten.

Marquez, who has struggled with the new electronics and tyre combination through pre-season testing, has a revised engine and chassis for the 2016 season but didn’t feel at one with his works RC213V until the last day of the final Qatar test.

“We can say that last year or two years ago that if on Sunday you didn’t feel well or has the wrong setup, you could finish fourth or fifth. This year will be different, I think. You have to be ready or you will finish eighth, ninth or tenth because we have many riders,” said Marquez.

“Also, I would like to see how is the situation in another circuit and during the season. Ducati and Suzuki did a good step and I think the first race will be very nice.

“This pre-season maybe hasn’t been one of the best but it is one that I have to work more. We had a lot of job and did many laps. The last day at Qatar I start to feel well on the bike with competitive laptimes. Qatar is always a tough circuit for us but we will fight.”