Marc Márquez has decided to make the biggest change in his MotoGP career so far in 2024, leaving Repsol Honda to ride for Gresini—marking his first time on a bike other than a Honda and with a satellite team.
The goal was to regain the good feelings of riding after the increasing difficulties with the Japanese manufacturer and ultimately to find a level of competitiveness that would allow him to extend his career. Márquez has already shown that he is capable of regularly fighting at the top with the best and will be a Ducati rider in 2025.
In retrospect, does he think this change should have been made earlier? The Spaniard rejected that idea: ‘No, because we achieved a lot with Honda, and I still feel part of Honda, right now that I’m riding a Ducati, and next year I will be Ducati rider. Of course I will try to defend Ducati’s colors, but Honda has been, and will be, a very important part of my career – or maybe the most important part, you never know’.
Then, Márquez explained: ‘When I was in Honda, sometimes people said, «Honda is Honda, and then he’s winning because of Honda». There were another Hondas. If you are a good rider, and you go to Honda and say, «I don’t care about the money, I just want to ride the best bike», they will give you the best bike if you are a good rider. In this case, I did the opposite: I went to Ducati, and I said, «I don’t care about anything, I just want to ride the best bike»’.
With his main objectives from this change already achieved, #93 is at peace with himself, whether or not he becomes champion again: ‘When I will retire, I will be quiet about myself, because I tried everything. Of course, when you do that kind of changes you put a lot of pressure in yourself, and there can be a lot of negative comments if you don’t achieve what you want. But I already achieved what I wanted: the target was trying to have a longer career, and trying to be competitive again. Then, if I will win another title? This will be something in another hand, but my main goal is already achieved’.