The Honda rider sits 56 points adrift of championship leader Rossi with eight rounds remaining, trying to claw back points he lost in a difficult start to the season as he struggled until reverting to his 2014 frame.

“It’s not in my hands,” said Marquez. “For me the target is to win races.

“We were 65 behind, now we’re 56, so we are closer.

“We still believe, but we must be honest – it will be difficult.

“We know both Yamaha riders have really good pace, and if we want to beat them every time or fight with them, we need to work.”

Marquez added that his recent battles with Lorenzo at Indianapolis and Rossi at Assen have given him an insight into Yamaha’s strengths compared to Honda’s.

“I followed Jorge for a lot of laps at Indianapolis, and in Assen I followed Valentino,” he said.

“They have really good potential, especially on corner exit, acceleration.

“We are working on this area to try to improve.”

Speaking earlier in the Indianapolis weekend, Marquez said he was relieved to get back to the comfortable feeling on the bike that he’d lost earlier in the 2015 campaign.

“The most important thing is I am enjoying the bike again,” he said, referring to the switch to an older frame that appears to have turned his fortunes around.

“Compared to last year it was difficult to find this feeling.

“Since Holland I found the feeling again and I’ve enjoyed the last races a lot.

“I lost points in the first part of the season, maybe the others lose in the second half.

“I know it’s a big distance, but we will push to the limit and see what happens.”