Marc Márquez’s departure from Honda is seen by many as a strong blow to HRC, given the time the manufacturer had to show signs of building a stronger bike for the next season, with the rider ending his contract with the giant Japanese company with one more season left. Alberto Puig says he felt ‘very disappointed’ with the rider’s departure.
The Repsol Honda Team Manager was asked by AS if he saw Márquez’s departure as ‘a failure’, with the Spaniard commenting: ‘Well, personally I am very disappointed, because the relationship I have with Marc is very good. On a company level, it is obvious that we were not able to make the bike he needed. It is also true that they were very bad years. We had the worst years of him, because everything with the shoulder was very complicated for him and for us’.
Puig also said that there were a series of events that added up until the rider decided to leave: ‘In the end, there was an accumulation of circumstances, almost all negative, that did not help at all. I think if Marc had not had that accident in Jerez, things would have been different. He would not have stopped, he would have continued on the bike and certainly the bike would have evolved differently. But talking about everything in the past is not good, of course’.
With Márquez already confirmed at Gresini, Puig says he hopes to see #93 performing well, and even winning races, but he assures that he wants to beat him:
– When I was with a rider who left, I was always happy with their results. And in Marc’s case, probably even more, because of the way he treated me on a personal level. Obviously, he is a champion and all fans of the motorcycling world and all of us who feel involved in this, in my case also being a rider, know that if he did well and won again it would be a milestone and, of course, I would be happy. I will be happy if Márquez wins again, but I want to beat him. This does not invalidate the fact that I work at Honda, that we have to develop a bike, that we have riders and that our goal is to win, whoever it may be.
