Marquez confident Repsol Honda can challenge

Marc Marquez believes Repsol Honda can provide more of a challenge to Movistar Yamaha in the 2016 MotoGP championship.

The two-time riders' champion struggled last year as he attempted to win three in a row, Marquez eventually settling for third place behind Jorge Lorenzo and Valentino Rossi.

Marquez was hampered by reliability problems throughout the early part of 2015 but he is confident the new Honda bike – which was unveiled on Sunday – can take the challenge to their rivals despite a few teething problems at the first test in Sepang.

"We made a few steps in the right direction over the three days at Sepang but we need to make some more at Phillip Island," he said.

"I'm confident the HRC [Honda Racing Corporation] engineers and my team will come up with more improvements as we get used to the new software.

"I'm looking forward to continuing our work on the new engine and the new electronics."

Honda executive vice president Shuhei Nakamoto shares his rider's belief and expects to see Marquez and Dani Pedrosa pushing for the title in November.

"We are working very hard to improve our knowledge of the new common software and Michelin tyres," he said.

"We are also working on our new engine but I believe our engineers will be able to give Dani and Marc a good machine to fight for the championship."