What's next for Marc Marquez?
Rumors around Marc Marquez's future
We just witnessed MotoGP Bharat deliver breathtaking racing, with riders overcoming challenges and Marco Bezzecchi imitating Max Verstappen-like performance. Marc finished P3 in the sprint race, making no mistake, and even matched Francesco Bagnaia’s pace for a brief of the race. In Sunday’s race, Marquez finished P9, he was in contention for a podium until he crashed mid-race and showed a remarkable comeback. What a thrilling race week it was!
Marc Marquez, if you don’t know, has dominated the world championships from 2013 to 2019. Marc with his “on the limit” riding style has got the name “alien” from his fellow riders and spectators. The way Marc Marquez carried Honda for so many years was not only domination but also impossible for other Honda riders. This guy single-handedly won the triple crown for HRC in 2019, kind of similar to what Max Verstappen is doing now with Red Bull. Further adding to Marc’s bragging rights, many Honda riders always called their bike, “very difficult to ride” or “it is a death machine”. Take Jorge Lorenzo for instance, he broke his spine in 2019 and later declared retirement. In 2020, Marc Marquez lost his rear at Jerez GP and lost around 18 months in recovery. Since then Marc has never been seen as comfortable on the bike as earlier.
Marc Marquez has a contract with Honda at the end of the 2024 season and has been speculated to leave the factory team a year early. Then what will happen you may ask, let’s delve into steps forward by Marc Marquez:
Marc Marquez left straight away for Motegi, Japan right after the Indian GP. He will visit Honda’s factory to have a look at upcoming upgrades which are supposed to be raced at Valencia.
Marc tested Honda’s 2024 prototype at Misano and said,
“It's true that we tried the new proto, some interesting things but in the end the performance overall was the same - or in my case a bit worse.”
"Let's keep riding with the one we know. And if I have to try a few things that they bring in the future, I will try, but at the moment I just keep focus on what I have.”
To see what’s in the box for the future Marc will visit Honda’s factory and assess the upgrades, just like Jorge Lorenzo did in 2019 before announcing his retirement.
Earlier Marc revealed that he has options A, B, and C at hand. Which are:
Option A: Marc is heavily speculated to join Gresini Racing for the 2024 season. We also believe that Marc will be provided with a factory-spec bike and will receive the treatment of a factory rider. We also believe that Ducati’s 2023 bike is better overall and Marc will opt for the same specs instead of the 2024 specs.
Marc’s reaction to the spectator’s poster Option B: In our article rounding up the Austrian GP, we discussed the possibility of the KTM Ajo team joining the MotoGP grid for the 2024 season. KTM Ajo currently competes in both Moto3 and Moto2 and has expressed interest in joining the premier class. Additionally, we are aware of Marc's fondness for KTM due to obvious reasons. There have been disagreements between Pit Bierer and Marc Marquez regarding joining KTM, but it's possible that what is said in front of the media may not be entirely truthful.
Option C: If everything goes south with Honda and he doesn’t join Gresini and KTM, Marc will declare himself a “free agent”. In this case, we will see chaos in the rider’s market. We certainly don’t want Marc to choose this option but, we can only hope.
Why look for a new team instead of developing the current bike?
On average, MotoGP riders retire at the age of 35. However, at 30 years old, Marc is still eager to win more titles and is actively seeking a machine that can help him achieve his goals. Despite previously achieving incredible results on less-than-ideal bikes, just imagine what Marc could accomplish with a high-quality motorcycle.
Here’s what Davide Tardozzi said about Marc joining Gresini,
“We like Marc. Everyone loves Marc. He’s an eight-time world champion. Marc is the past, the present and the future”.
Over the past few years, we have watched Marc endure enough. From winning eight titles, making outstanding saves and overtakes, to recovering from a grievous injury and regaining full mental and physical strength. It’s time for ‘Thunder of Cervera’ to rise and shine once again.