After 11 years with Honda, Marc Márquez said goodbye to the Japanese manufacturer at the end of 2023 and for the first time in his MotoGP career he’s with another manufacturer, and for the moment the Spaniard’s competitiveness is evident. In 2025, he has guaranteed that he wants to ride a more up-to-date bike, regardless of the brand – this year he’s riding a Desmosedici GP23 for Gresini Racing – but is that really the case and can ‘any’ manufacturer keep his hopes alive for the former world champion as long as it meets his wishes?
Marc Márquez has said that next year he wants to be on a ‘2025’ bike and that it wouldn’t matter which manufacturer, but let’s consider a few scenarios.
What prompted Marc Márquez’s departure from Honda was precisely the RC213V’s lack of competitiveness, with the rider even claiming that, in addition to his mental state being worsened by the lack of results, he had even considered putting an end to his career.
When he abruptly announced his departure from Honda, something that happened in a very emotional and intense way, with the #93 saying that the Japanese team was a real family to him and that mentally it was a very difficult decision to make, Gresini Racing played with time and, in a masterstroke, went ahead and signed the Spaniard, with practically perfect timing because most of the MotoGP teams were already closed.
However, with a view to next season, the desire is to have a completely up-to-date bike at his disposal, Márquez will certainly want to remain at the level he is at now or even improve on it: he has achieved podiums and contested races for victory, as happened for example in the last GP at Le Mans, and this begs the question: an up-to-date bike, fine, but just any bike, really? It doesn’t seem that way, and it’s easy to understand why…
Let’s imagine the scenario in which Honda, which has two riders secured for 2025 – Johann Zarco and Luca Marini, both signed this year – but has two vacancies, decides to go ahead and sign Márquez, would he accept given the current competitive state of the bike? It seems almost impossible or unimaginable that Márquez would accept, as it would be like travelling back in time and going ‘back’ because, looking at what we see at the moment, there are no clear signs of a return to the top.
What about Yamaha? Álex Rins and Fabio Quartararo are safe, but there is a rumour that the Japanese manufacturer is trying to secure Pramac Racing as a satellite team for 2025, but even if that were to happen and two other riders were needed, would Márquez agree to ride a bike that has also underperformed? It seems unlikely, although in general terms Yamaha seems a little more ‘capable’ than Honda at the moment, but not enough to ‘attract’ Márquez, from a competitive point of view at least, which is a priority for the rider.
It should also be remembered that the Japanese manufacturer will have arguments to hold on to riders, as it did with Quartararo, and whether these depend solely on financial reasons is… questionable, as riders at this level don’t just look at the financial part of the deals.
Ducati, for its part, seems to be working to keep Pramac on its side and is equipping Jorge Martín and Franco Morbidelli’s team with factory bikes, which could be the most logical option, or even Ducati itself signing a contract with the Spaniard, although, as a matter of logic, what would perhaps make more sense would be to try the best of both worlds: ‘secure’ Martín (who has already said he wants a factory team, regardless of the manufacturer), and give Márquez said factory bike… at Pramac.
The Italian manufacturer could thus have Pecco Bagnaia and Martín in the factory team and Marc Márquez with a 2025 bike on one of its satellites, but is it ready to lose Enea Bastianini?
What about factory Aprilia, Trackhouse Racing, KTM and GASGAS Tech3? These are all viable options, but Aprilia seems to be the best placed as it doesn’t have any riders under contract for 2025, while KTM has Pedro Acosta and Brad Binder safe and two others in limbo, Jack Miller and Augusto Fernández, and certainly won’t have any financial problems to provide Márquez with what he wants, especially as this is an ‘old’ relationship for the Austrian manufacturer.
In any case, it’s certain that the market depends on Ducati’s choices and from there the rest will unfold… Let’s wait.