The holidays are over and for Marquez and Pedrosa, as it is for all the other riders, and the time has come to focus on the next race. They will certainly begin with a handicap compared to the other rivals because (along with the Tech3 riders) they did not participate in the tests at Zeltweg.

In any case, the time off gave Marc a chance to rest.

“The holidays have been very good because we started the summer break knowing we had worked as well as possible with my team and with Honda in the first part of the season - he says - I had some time off, resting and relaxing with my friends on the beach. Anyway, a quite hectic and challenging second half of the season is about to begin, requiring our total concentration and a lot of hard work, so I also spent some time preparing myself with cycling and supermotard training.”

His Honda awaits him now in the garage.

“Now I really look forward to getting back to racing my bike and to riding again at the Red Bull Ring - he continues - I had the chance to enjoy this amazing track twice, even if I wasn't riding my factory bike and of course I couldn't push as much as I like. It’s a circuit that’s quite enjoyable; some things about it remind me of Austin in that you have to brake very hard and stop the bike and turn quickly, but then there’s the last part that’s faster. I think it’s a good track for the World Championship.”

The plan is simple: “When you approach a weekend at a new circuit, it’s different and you have to be able to adapt as quickly as possible.”

If Marquez must simply continue down the same path he began in the first races, in the second half of the season, Pedrosa will be seeking redemption after a less than brilliant start.

“The chance to spend some time on holiday with my friends has been very good but it’s now time to focus again on the work ahead - he says - We went to the Red Bull Ring for some filming last June, and we were able to do a few laps on the RC213V-S. The circuit is in the middle of the woods, a beautiful place indeed. It’s short but it’s quite interesting because the width changes a lot so that there are very wide parts and some narrower ones. I would say the hardest thing is that there’s only one line and that makes overtaking difficult.”

Dani continues with his description of the circuit.

“Anyway there are two or three points at which there’s pretty hard braking and where you can overtake - he adds - It has a combination of corners that include more right-handers than left-handers and it only stops hard at two corners. It’s nice to see how you go up the hill and then back down. It will be interesting racing at a new track and to see how our bike goes there.”

To take a lap on the track with Marc and Dani, watch the video below.