Written by Owen Bradley and Jenna Post
Credit: Steve Wobser
Marc Marquez has officially signed a contract with Gresini Ducati for 2024, and will leave Repsol Honda at the end of the 2023 season.
Marc will be joining his younger brother, Alex Marquez, at the Gresini Ducati team. Gresini Ducati are a satellite team (customer team) who use slightly older Ducati machinery. Marc Marquez, being an 8-Time World Champion, has always been battling the Ducati teams throughout his career, and ever since his injury in 2020, the Honda team have never seemed anywhere close to developing a motorcycle that can challenge that of the Ducati.
Marquez’s lacklustre 2023 season, one of four retirements, three DNS, and three rounds out due to injury, raised questions on his future with the team, whom he has raced for since the beginning of his MotoGP career back in 2013, and won all six of his world championships.
Not the only Honda rider shown to be suffering since the beginning of the season back in March, Marquez’s blatant struggle to be competitive and keep the bike out of the gravel traps created speculation that the Spanish rider might end his Honda contract a year early, and move to a more competitive team.
Rumours suggested Marquez was looking at a move to Ducati satellite team Gresini Racing, alongside his brother Alex Marquez for 2024, as the Ducati, KTM, Yamaha and Aprilia factory seat’s were all taken. Marquez’s intentions weren’t initially clear, as the Spaniard had made some contradicting comments on his future at Honda.
Marc Marquez has spent his entire career in MotoGP with Repsol Honda, and similarly to Valentino Rossi in the 2004 season, he will have a point to prove. For Rossi, people argued that his success was all down to the bike, but he proved them wrong with a move to Yamaha, where he won on his debut with the team.
Credit: Mirco Lazzari
This news comes after Marc Marquez secured a podium at the Japanese Grand Prix, on the Honda and at their home race. However, these have been extremely tough seasons for both Honda and Marc Marquez, and the pair will now split. Marc Marquez has been a part of the Repsol Honda team since 2013, replacing Casey Stoner. However, he was also sponsored throughout Moto3 and Moto2, formerly 125cc and 250cc. This is a huge move in MotoGP, and also the entire Motorsport world.
Marc Marquez has had some similar criticisms during his career, so this could perhaps be history repeating itself. This won't be the first time that the Marquez brothers have shared a team, they were both with Repsol Honda in 2020 and 2021, however Marc Marquez took a lot of time out of both of those years due to injury.
Marc is an extremely talented rider, many debate on whether he is the Greatest MotoGP rider of all time, and it appears we could be about to find out in 2024.
The 2024 season is heating up to be a classic season. Francesco Bagnaia, the reigning World Champion on a Factory Ducati, versus Marco Bezzecchi on the Ducati in Team VR46, versus Jorge Martin on the Pramac Ducati and current championship contender and now, Marc Marquez aboard the Ducati as well. We truly are in for an incredible 2024 season.