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MotoGP champ Márquez switches two wheels for four

Marc Márquez has already beaten all and sundry on two wheels but today switched to four wheels and a Formula 1 car for a new speed experience on the track. 

The four-time MotoGP champion, who leads this year’s championship after six rounds, took to the wheel of a Scuderia Toro Rosso F1 car for a few laps of the Red Bull Ring. Here is all you need to know. 

- Marquez was given the opportunity to switch from his Repsol Honda bike to an STR F1 car. 

- The Spaniard drove for a few hours at the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg ahead of the Austrian Grand Prix there later this season.

- He first underwent a series of laps in the simulator before getting onto the track for the test run.

- Hooked after just a few laps, he said: “It was always my dream to race the quickest cars in the world. I had great respect for it ahead of today, and I didn’t sleep well. In the end it was an unbelievable experience, and an absolute highlight of my career. There is a massive difference to MotoGP. The limited visibility was a great challenge, in particular, to begin with. You feel a lot more constricted in the cockpit. The braking distances and timing in turns is completely different. A Formula 1 car has much more downforce, of course, which made for a lot of fun in the part of the circuit with the most turns, in particular.”

- And does he see a career in four-wheel racing in the future? Marquez said: "My complete focus in the coming years will remain on MotoGP. I’m part of a fantastic team, and I feel fully motivated. Who knows though, maybe Formula 1 will be a serious idea for me in a few years’ time!”

- The 25-year-old had a litany of F1 big hitters to put him through his paces with the likes of three-time world champion Niki Lauda, eight-time grand prix winner Mark Webber and Red Bull motorsport boss Helmut Marko watching from the stands.