Honda is desperately looking for the rider who will have to replace the departing Marc Marquez at least in the 2024 season and the situation outlined by Alberto Puig, team manager of the Tokyo manufacturer, is anything but idyllic.
The search is becoming more and more complex, especially because the riders considered top are already all settled for next season and Honda needs someone who can really make the difference, that is, take Marquez’s place not only from a purely numerical point of view, but also , if not above all, from that of performance, leadership and results.
Marc Marquez, who is counting down to start his new adventure with Ducati, in the Gresini Racing team, thinks that his farewell to Honda has not put the Japanese manufacturer in trouble.
“In my opinion I didn’t get Honda into trouble. The team has a world champion in the garage, which is Joan Mir, and it’s clear that he’s not far from my level. What Honda needs right now, and I have said many times, it’s time”.
“Honda is Honda, it will return to the top whether I’m in the pits or not. obviously we’ve had a difficult situation for two or three years and there are riders who have more time than others and, personally, now it’s different from some time ago” .
“My good relationship with Honda has led to the current situation. I could have been selfish and stayed in the pits riding the bike and gotten paid a fortune, but I think all that money should go towards developing the bike.”
Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
Marc Marquez, Repsol Honda Team
“I stood aside and prioritized sportsmanship, having fun with the bike, which is what I’ve always done. Honda already has a good rider and has more important things to do than hiring a second rider.”
Marc’s sporting results this season have long since faded into the background. Today the champion from Cervera achieved a double Top 10 in the two free practice sessions of the Malaysian Grand Prix at least until the arrival of the time-attacks. At that point, HRC’s top rider slipped far behind, almost a second behind the best time of the day set by his brother Alex Marquez.
“When I went out I met Alex on the track and I saw that he was going very fast, I couldn’t follow him. He was in front the whole time and led in the second session. I was behind him in the first afternoon start, I almost crashed in second lap. He’s doing very well now, after a few races where he had pain in his ribs, he’s now physically fit again and feels very good. When you’re pushed to the limit like that it’s easy to make mistakes, but I saw him very confident.”
“As far as the track is concerned, however, as I said yesterday we knew we would suffer and when you know this it’s more difficult to have a certain type of impact. We went better on pace than on the flying lap”, concluded Marc.
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