Honda’s MotoGP riders converge in Argentina this week for the first of two flyaway Grands Prix held on back-to-back weekends.

As the lone South American round on the 2016 calendar, the Argentine Grand Prix draws a sizeable and enthusiastic crowd to the Termas de Rio Hondo circuit in the country’s northern province of Santiago del Estero. It is followed by the Grand Prix of the Americas in Austin, Texas, on April 10.

Two weeks ago the season-opening Qatar Grand Prix highlighted the impressive strides made by Honda since preseason testing started at Sepang, Malaysia, on February 1. Despite numerous new technical regulations, including a move to control electronics and Michelin tyres, Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda RC213V) and Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda RC213V) rode well to finish third and fifth, showing plenty of potential for the season ahead.

Two-time MotoGP World Champion Marquez had a great ride in the floodlit desert race, taking a strong podium finish, less than 2.5 seconds behind the winner. Growing confidence in the control electronics and the Michelins helped the 23-year old to challenge in the lead group all the way to the flag.

Qatar’s Losail circuit has never been the best track for Honda’s RC213V, but Termas de Rio Hondo is a happier hunting ground for the machine. Marquez took pole position at the venue’s first two MotoGP events in 2014 and 2015, went on to win the 2014 race and led most of last year’s. Sadly, a collision with Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) ended his chances of back-to-back Argentine GP victories.

Pedrosa arrives in Argentina in confident mood after he described the improvements to his machine between preseason testing and the Qatar GP as “huge”. Although his fifth-place finish was not ideal, the 30-year old feels he now has a solid base set-up from which to work as he aims to get closer to the race winner second time around.

Although Pedrosa was not present in Argentina last year, because he was recovering from surgery to fix an arm-pump problem, his 2014 performance suggests he should show strongly. The former 125 and 250 World Champion finished a close second to Marquez in 2014 while his fastest lap of the race was 0.03 seconds quicker than his team-mate’s.

British Honda rider Cal Crutchlow (LCR Honda RC213V) was also emboldened by set-up improvements to his machine in Qatar. The former World Supersport champion showed impressive pace in the race until he slid off due to a glitch with the control electronics.

Crutchlow was able to carry significant corner speed through Qatar’s faster corners while pursuing Pedrosa and Maverick Vinales (Suzuki) thanks to his riding technique and machine set-up. This bodes well for the Argentine round, where Crutchlow scored his finest result of 2015. Starting from fifth on the grid, he thrust his RC213V past Andrea Iannone (Ducati) in the final few corners to claim third place.

Jack Miller (Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS Honda RC213V) continues to make progress as he recovers from the leg injury that hampered his preseason. Miller achieved the goal he set himself at round one, by scoring points, thanks to a 14th place finish.

Like Crutchlow, Miller also has fond memories of Termas de Rio Hondo. He was a narrow winner in the 2014 Moto3 race at the track and rode to a fine 12th place in last year’s MotoGP race, only his third outing on a 1000cc race bike.

Tito Rabat (Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS Honda RC213V) is the only rookie in MotoGP 2016. The Spaniard began life as a premier-class rider with a 15th-place finish in Qatar. He too was a winner at the 2014 Argentine GP, taking a dominant Moto2 victory on his way to that year’s world title.