After a decade, Marc Márquez left Repsol Honda in MotoGP. It is a significant change for the Japanese team, which had been centralizing the development of the bike on the six-time champion of the premier class – a strategy that ended up costing dearly and led them to lose their way in recent years.
In 2024, the riders are Joan Mir and Luca Marini, who are not intimidated or overshadowed by the weight of following in the footsteps of a success like Márquez’s. In the team presentation, Mir stated:
“The truth is that I didn’t think about him all year. It’s more of what is expected from the outside, what is said. But here the goal is to be back at the top and lead this team, regardless of who was here and which rider was with this team in recent years. With or without him, we have to give it our all, and that’s it.”
As for newcomer Marini, he spoke about a new era for Honda starting this year: ‘I believe that Marc represented a part of Honda’s history and did great things. This is also what I want to do, so I am very focused on my work, and I think a new era of Honda has just begun.’