MotoGP | Marquez willing to leave Red Bull for the official Ducati

After a “very hot” Jerez, MotoGP arrived at Le Mans, a track equally full of fan passion. The atmosphere will certainly be an added value to the motivation that Marc Marquez has in tackling the French Grand Prix. The historic track will be the scene of a new challenge, to which the Gresini driver arrives excited after the excellent result obtained in the home race.

The return to the podium in Jerez in Sunday’s race was a breath of fresh air for the eight-time world champion, who didn’t look so much at the result, but at the effort made to get there: “It was special considering where we came from. It wasn’t a super incredible race in itself, but I was coming from a very complicated moment and I hadn’t been on the podium for a long time in dry conditions.”

“Fighting hand-to-hand with the winner of the race and having the pace to be there was great. I haven’t felt this fast in a Sunday race in a long time. This is just the first step, obviously on some tracks we will have some problems in the future. But for me it is a pleasure to fight with the two riders who raced at a very high level last year and competed for the world title”, said Marquez in the usual Thursday press conference.

On the eve of the French Grand Prix, the spirit is positive, also judging by past results: “I feel good, Le Mans is a good track for me. It’s true that this year I’m arriving on tracks where I struggled until last year, while now I’m more competitive. Here I fought with Jorge until the last two laps, let’s see this year. We will have to start the right way, step by step. But the Jerez tests have already been very positive because we continued to learn new things. Now I have to find a way to be faster and to be closer to the riders in front.”

The “riders in front” are those equipped with the Desmosedici GP24. Those who have tried it have praised the further step forward made compared to the GP23, which Marc Marquez uses. However, the eight-time world champion claims not to see any big differences from the outside, judging also from the results: “The differences are small. If I follow them, I find no distinctions. What I feel with the GP23 is that I’m with them and I can fight if I ride well. Obviously there are differences, but you have to ask those who drive the GP24. I focus on my bike and I knew before arriving here what I would have. So I keep pushing and I’m having fun, which is the most important thing.”

The good results are also a nice “business card” for the future. The place in the official team next to Pecco Bagnaia is disputed between Enea Bastianini (who is seeking confirmation), Jorge Martin and Marc Marquez himself. Who will win among the three? The Gresini standard-bearer does not go too far on the near future, explaining mainly what his situation is: “Compared to Jorge, I am new to Ducati. I arrived in a particular situation.”

“Little by little I feel better and better on the track, stronger and I have more and more confidence,” he explained. “That’s the goal for this year. Obviously, if I continue in this way, in 2025 or 2026 the objective will be different, which is to fight for the title. For this, you need to have the newest material on the bike to have more opportunities. But, the faster I am, the more options I will have for the future. If I have the chance, I will decide for the best.”

There is only one knot to untie for Marc to wear red in 2025 (besides the battle with his brand mates): Red Bull and Monster. The two energy drink giants are rivals and, while the former sponsors Marc, the latter attaches stickers to the official Ducatis. How to resolve the “conflict”? Marquez also has quite clear ideas from this point of view, hinting that he is also considering the possibility of leaving Red Bull to join the official team.

“Sometimes in life you have to make decisions that you don’t like or that you don’t want to make. We are all here to win, which is why we need to look for the best conditions at all times. Everything must be taken into consideration”, explained the Gresini standard-bearer. Does this change also affect Red Bull? The Catalan did not respond directly, avoiding the question. “If a rider finishes a contract and a brand, any brand, has free bikes, it would be stupid not to at least have a conversation with that. You have to talk to everyone and, obviously, there are conversations.”

After the immediate future, comes the long-term one: the new regulation will take center stage this weekend, which will come into force in 2027. What does Marc Marquez think? “I was joking with the Spanish journalists saying that I don’t know where we will be in 2027. I looked at the new rules a bit, but it seems that it’s a bit more about spectacle. There are restrictions from a technical point of view, I think this is good for the riders. If you have less technical stuff on the bike, the rider can make more of a difference and the rider value will be better. So we will look for the driver and that’s something I like.”