“Honda Racing Corporation and Marc Márquez have mutually decided to terminate their four-year contract early at the end of the 2023 season.” This is how the statement launched this Wednesday by the Japanese brand began and marked the end of an era in MotoGP. An early breakup, a year before the contract that linked both parties, but which has been friendly and necessary, given that the Spanish driver was not willing to lead the reconstruction of a project that will begin from scratch in 2024.
A decision that began to be rumored before the summer, when Márquez was sidelined for several races due to injuries caused by a motorcycle with obvious mechanical inferiority and which he tried to compensate at the risk of his physique, and which was an open secret within from the paddock. Last weekend, at the Japanese Grand Prix, the Spaniard met with the entire Honda leadership to finalize his agreed departure and it was decided to postpone the announcement once the race had passed. Chance wanted it, precisely on the Motegi circuit, Márquez returned to a podium 350 days later, which he himself described as a “romantic story”, in statements that already sounded like a sweet farewell.
It puts an end to a fruitful relationship that began in 2013, when Marc Márquez made the jump to the premier class of MotoGP as a child prodigy that he confirmed with his first title in his ‘rookie’ year, breaking all precocity records. And it has meant the most successful rider-motorcycle union in the history of motorcycling, with numbers that recalled Cervera’s farewell on his social networks. «Thank you for this great trip. We have shared unforgettable moments: 6 World Championships, 5 Triple Crowns, 59 victories, 101 podiums and 64 pole positions. Laughter, tears, joy, hard moments but most importantly: a unique and unrepeatable relationship. Separated, but always together!
Free way to Ducati
With Honda’s statement, one of the unknowns that has focused the MotoGP World Championship for months is resolved. It remains to resolve the other no less intense part of where Marc Márquez will race in 2024 and whether his departure from Honda will generate more movements on the MotoGP grid.
It is assumed that the Catalan rider will sign for the Italian team Gresini Racing, where he will ride a private Ducati and share the box with his brother Álex. It will be a one-year agreement in which he will compete on the bike that will be proclaimed champion this season. Of course, in a lower version than the one that the pilots of the official Pecco Bagnaia team and the Pramac Racing in which Jorge Martín races. In any case, a motorcycle a priori much more competitive than the one he could have found at Honda next year.
The Japanese brand must now find a replacement for Márquez, to fill the immense void left by the Spanish driver. The most conservative option would be to promote Iker Lecuona, who competes with Honda colors in the World Superbike, with experience in MotoGP since he has replaced the Spaniard when he was unable to race due to injury. Although the truth is that Honda has surveyed several drivers on the grid, such as Maverick Viñales, Fabio Quartararo or the young Pedro Acosta… And the second part of this story promises to be as interesting as the first.
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