A marriage that ended and caught many people by surprise. Marc Márquez addressed the end of his connection with Honda, once again stating that the “goodbye” could only be a “see you soon”. The new Gresini man reveals that he is still far from fighting for the title in the upcoming season, opting for caution.
‘It was exciting, on the edge. It was something unrepeatable. Santi Hernández [former chief mechanic] is the person I will miss the most. The connection we had just by looking at each other… I knew when he made a change in the bike and whether he convinced me or not. We have the tranquility of having a friendship, to keep calling each other’, he revealed in statements quoted by Marca.
‘At 12 years old, I was already going at 200 km/h, but I didn’t know how to put on the helmet, it was my father who had to do it. The following year I already knew how after having learned. I have no dreams left to fulfill at a professional level. Ambition and challenges, yes, of course I have them’, he explained.
Looking at the team change, Márquez is cautious: ‘We need to build, we can’t start with the roof. Right now, I’m not among the three fastest riders. Pecco Bagnaia and Jorge Martín are the two riders to beat. The third could be Brad Binder, depending on the evolution of KTM. You can’t face things with the mentality that you’re going to crush it, otherwise, you’ll end up being crushed. With Ducati, it was love at first sight, but you need to work on that love, because love at first sight…’
‘At this moment, all my rivals worry me, especially those who have a Ducati motorcycle, they are the ones I can really compare myself to and see that they can make a difference. I’m not among the top three fastest, so I have to work hard to be in that position if I want to, and I intend for it to be so in the near future. Pecco Bagnaia and Jorge Martín were the two riders who had a more complete year in 2023. Pecco, in terms of consistency and knowing how to take advantage of situations, and Jorge in terms of speed, he was faster than Pecco, but the truth is that the last two or three races didn’t go as expected for him. But they are the two riders to beat in 2024. Brad Binder is a rider who has shown to be very fast and sometimes consistent. Technically, I believe he has the conditions to fight for the World Championship,’ Marc concluded in statements to DAZN.
