It was cold and windy at the Ricardo Tormo circuit, but the paddock He got up early wanting to witness a historic moment for the championship. There was even a queue of fans, something never seen before in a winter test. This Tuesday Marc Márquez made his debut with the Ducati satellite of Team Gresini, the motorcycle with which he intends to rediscover victories after two blank seasons. It was not easy to leave Honda and his family on the circuits for the last 11 years, with whom he won six world titles. “I have never done anything like this,” he acknowledged on Sunday. “It is a risky change and I had to think about it a lot. In fact, I still have doubts,” he said.
Those doubts probably disappeared this Tuesday at 11:14 a.m. in Cheste, when he finally got on his new machine, Gigi Dall’Igna’s masterpiece that has swept this year at the hands of Jorge Martín and Pecco Bagnaia. His first stint with the Italian bike that sets the pace in MotoGP was eight laps, and in the last one Márquez was already third at pace similar to the best Ducati during the last race of the year. When he returned to the garage, all new faces except for Javi Ortiz, one of the rank and file mechanics, and José Luis Martínez, the driver’s assistant, sat calmly, took off his helmet and didn’t need to say anything to convey his feelings. . He looked at his coach Frankie Carchedi, world champion with Joan Mir in 2020, and smiled from ear to ear. It was the same rascally face he had on his best days, the same spark in his eyes.
The entire grid was attentive, and everyone was wondering what Márquez could do. They soon had the answer, although few had doubts. “It will be quick right away. I don’t think it will take him long to adapt to the bike, and it is clear that his level has no point of comparison with anyone,” said one of the most experienced technicians in the championship, who suffered first-hand during his ten years of experience. with Ducati. Carchedi acknowledged that he had a hard time sleeping last night, his expectations sky-high. “Welcome to the family,” his new mechanics wrote on the board to welcome him after his first full lap with the Desmosedici. At the lunch break, after running 21 laps, he placed second in the time table led by Maverick Viñales’ Aprilia, already the best Ducati of the day. In the afternoon session, he stood first for a long time and seemed comfortable and perfectly adapted to his new machine. Marc finished the day fourth, ahead of his brother Álex and just under two hundredths of the best time of the day, that of Viñales.
Before seeing him for the first time on the back of his creature, Dall’Igna also appreciated the arrival of the eight-time world champion. “I am very curious to see what he will tell me when he gets off the bike, because he is surely one of the most important riders in the history of motorcycling and, therefore, it is an honor that he wants to race with our bike,” said the guru. from the Bologna factory. The head of the project reconfirmed that Ducati did not want to have the Catalan among its menu of drivers, but the decision was exclusive and independent, the commitment of one of its clients, the Gresini team that is today led by the former driver’s widow, Nadia Padovani: “Ducati didn’t want Márquez. He is an unruly rider, and we must be able to manage the relationship with him within the team and all the people who work at Ducati, because I believe that one of our strengths is the good harmony that reigns between all of us.”
The bike that Marc used this Tuesday was the same one that Johann Zarco finished the championship with this Sunday in Valencia. It did not have the latest evolutions that Martín, Bagnaia and Bastianini, the pilots with a factory contract, did use. In this first contact, the presence of his brother Álex Márquez on the other side of the garage was a relief among the ocean of strangers, also a good starting point to gather driving advice. “I have seen him well, relaxed. I know what it’s like, of course I expected it,” commented the youngest of the family. The great protagonist of the day could not share his impressions in public due to contractual restrictions, since his relationship with Honda does not end until December 31. A microphone on one of Sky Italia’s cameras caught his first words to his new chief engineer. “It offers me confidence, yes,” he concluded.
From the first hour, when he arrived at his new purple trucks, the 30-year-old driver seemed relaxed and smiling. At 10:20 he went into the garage, and an hour later he was already writing the first chapter of his new stage. Outside, some of those responsible for the Gresini team were laughing out loud. Everyone was looking for the best place to witness the first outing of the Cervera phenomenon. They had never seen so many attentive gazes at his garage.
Pecco Bagnaia, the world champion, was right next door. When he went out on the track not a single camera was pointed at him. “I had bet that he was going to be first, Marc has very high potential, so I expected it,” he stated when commenting on the immediate performance of his new brand partner. “Impressive,” acknowledged the number one team leader, Davide Tardozzi. Pedro Acosta also made his debut today, and numerous drivers changed brands and colors. Luca Marini, brother of Valentino Rossi, debuted for example with Honda and Márquez’s old motorcycle. Although everything remained in the background. The arrival of Marc Márquez at Ducati can change the paradigm again.
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