Moreira joins the MotoGP grid this year as the reigning Moto2 World Champion with the LCR Honda team. Marc Marquez returns as the reigning MotoGP World Champion, with Alex Marquez as the MotoGP runner-up. For Moreira, training with the Marquez brothers proved ideal ahead of his debut, and the Brazilian says he feels ready to begin.
“At the end, I think we are ready to start this season,” Diogo Moreira told MotoGP.com at the LCR Honda season launch.
“We made a very good job this winter, we trained a lot. I think after Valencia, the last race, we stopped only one week, so I think we are ready to start.
“We trained a lot together with Marc [Marquez] and Alex [Marquez] – at the end, it’s very good to train with him, and also I learnt a lot. I think we’re ready to start the season.”
Moreira got his first taste of MotoGP at the Valencia test last November and returned to the track this week (29–31 January) in Sepang for the Shakedown test, where he improved his best lap time by 1.6 seconds between the second and third days.
“At the end, it was super-good,” Moreira said. “I think we made a very good job these three days in Malaysia, but at the end we need to keep working on the new bike, try to understand more where is the limit. I think we are ready to [go] to Thailand.”
Building on his success in Moto2, Moreira aims to adapt quickly to the premier class, push for consistent results, and continue developing his skills with the LCR Honda team as he looks to make a strong impression in his rookie year.
