To the surprise of many, Marc Márquez switched from Repsol Honda to Gresini for the 2024 MotoGP season. For the first time, he competes in a satellite team, he earns much less money than he earned, but he races with a Ducati bike – one of the most competitive in the current field, unlike the Honda. Randy Mamola believes that sporting aspects and ambition were the decisive factors for Marc Márquez’s decision.
The former rider recalled other bold team changes in MotoGP history, such as when Valentino Rossi moved from Yamaha to Ducati, and commented further:
– Can you imagine the conversation Marc had with Álex [Márquez] sitting at the bar last year? Don’t tell me Marc didn’t say, «How about it?». And don’t tell me Álex didn’t say, «It’s amazing». So, what would that do to you as an eight-time world champion?
Mamola has no doubts that Honda tried everything to keep Marc Márquez from leaving, but he believes that the monetary issue was secondary for the rider: ‘It’s obvious that Honda pressured until the end to try to keep him. Money, when we talk about a world champion like Marc, means nothing; it’s about pride and it’s about winning. We know Marc’s level in the past, and we know what happened with the surgery, he had to make a change, and this was his decision’.