Yesterday’s news about Marc Márquez’s future and the split with Honda were not exactly a surprise, although very impactful. Ricard Jové spoke about the rider’s future and how it is now important to understand how he will be supported in the new project, while also clarifying that it is crucial to know who will accompany the Spanish rider in this transition, which everything indicates will be to Gresini Racing.
The Spaniard began by recalling, to DAZN, the moment he was informed of the official announcement that Márquez and Honda decided to terminate the contract, but admitted that he was not surprised: ‘I was caught eating, they called me and I hadn’t even heard about it. Considering what has happened in the last ten days, I think few people can be caught by surprise. We all agree that this was a foretold story’.
With a new project for 2024 and being Márquez a cornerstone in Honda’s development over the past years, it now remains to be seen what Honda’s plan will be going forward, and not only that: ‘From this moment on, some very interesting questions arise to understand what the new project is. And also how Honda’s project will be, which is interesting to know […] What are they going to do with this bike? What will be the technical team managing this bike? It is obvious that, in the eventuality, which I don’t believe, of having new people there because they can’t close the deal, the rider will have to adapt to the technicians and vice versa’.
It now remains to be seen if some of the elements that have accompanied #93 in the past years will also be part of the new team, and that could have an influence, believes Jové, who is of the opinion that the Spanish star should be accompanied by many of those who have lived with him in Honda’s garage:
– If Marc can take his entire team with him, in that sense it is very different. And sometimes, the relationship between technicians and riders has to be worked on, they have to understand each other. For me, it is very important that he can take most, if not all, of the team that surrounded him in the past years. Because even if they don’t know Ducati as they know Honda, they have Ducati technicians who are under contract. One of the questions will be to know with whom Marc Márquez will race in this new project.
