FOLLOWING the unexpected major team changes announced in MotoGP with Jorge Lorenzo taking Dani Pedrosa's place at Repsol Honda, fans were quite ready to believe four-times world champion Marc Márquez had made a sideways career move into Formula 1.
But the 25-year-old Lleida-born prodigy's spin round Austria's Red Bull Ring in a Toro Rosso was just a reward by his sponsors for his excellent results.
Márquez, from Cervera in inland Catalunya, started off in a Formula 1 simulator at the Red Bull factory and stunned the motor racing team with his natural skills, adapting his reactions and braking to suit four wheels rather than two.
He then got behind the wheel for real and went for a spin, putting to good use the advice given to him during the simulator session by veteran world championship Formula 1 drivers Niki Lauda and Mark Webber and Red Bull's team advisor Helmut Marko.
The perfect antidote to his miserable Sunday – Márquez fell off during the Italian Grand Prix in Mugello, finishing 16th, and enduring jeering and tasteless gestures from fans of his arch-rival Valentino Rossi, which even included mock headstones – the Repsol Honda rider said his Formula 1 experience was exhilarating.
“It's an unbelievable feeling, driving this car, especially on the decelerations and round bends at speed,” said a high-as-a-kite Márquez after his thrilling round.
“I'm just starting to feel my neck again now,” he joked.
Red Bull also sponsors Márquez's current team mate Dani Pedrosa, who will leave Honda at the end of the season, but who will also be rewarded for his efforts in the same way as Márquez: Pedrosa, too, will take a tour round the Austrian circuit in a Toro Rosso this week.
Continuing with the theme, Italy's Toni Cairoli will be next to enjoy his prize for achievements with a race around the Red Bull Ring in a Formula 1 car – a fitting reward for a current defending and nine-times world champion Motocross rider.
