Reigning MotoGP World Champion Marc Marquez kept a low profile in terms of outright laptimes at the Sepang test, preferring to understand which spec of engine he will use for this season and doing race distance work on it to find the correct balance.

In previous years, Marquez was the headline grabbing rider with outrageous laptimes and crashes but as he matures, the Spaniard is more concerned with how his bike behaves over 20 or so laps and how it works with the electronics.

“It's there where we are working. Because at the moment, it's still a little bit aggressive, that engine. And it's where I'm a little bit more worried, because normally where, the engine always has one step, two steps, three steps even less power," said Marquez, speaking at the track.

“And it's where I'm trying to understand well, because now we go to Thailand, it will be more or less the same conditions, and then when we arrive in Qatar, there is no time to change. You try the engine, it's good or no good, but there's no time to change it for the race. It's there where we need to work with the electronics to try to find a good balance.

“We were lucky that all three riders decided the same one [the newest engine]! So lucky in that, because it's the most important thing. Then of course in the chassis area, everybody likes his own setup, his bike balance, but here, all the riders go in the same direction, so now we will see in Thailand.

“But it's what I said, it will be difficult, because you don't know if it's too aggressive or not. I mean, you cannot test it in a small track like Jerez. But everybody has the same problem.

“I believe that that engine is working well, and it can be made smoother by electronics. So we are working there, and all three riders work in a little bit different ways, to try to find a good compromise.”