Putting rest to speculation surrounding his MotoGP future, Marc Marquez has confirmed he will be parting ways with Honda at the end of the current 2023 season. A move to Ducati satellite squad Gresini Racing is expected to be officially confirmed soon.
- Marquez and Honda part ways after 11 years
- The alliance yielded six titles and 59 wins
Marquez’s contract with Honda Racing Corporation was set to expire at the end of 2024. However, Honda has released a statement confirming that both parties have “mutually elected to terminate their four-year contract prematurely.” The announcement comes just days after Marquez finished on the podium (P3) at Honda’s home race at Motegi.
This brings an end to one of the most successful alliances in motorsport, yielding six titles, 59 wins, 101 podiums and 64 pole positions. Marquez took his debut MotoGP victory aboard the Honda RC213V at the American GP in 2013. He went on to become the youngest premier class World Champion later that year and defended that title in 2014. A dominant run then saw him claim back-to-back titles from 2016-2019.
However, it’s been a difficult past few seasons for Marquez, who hasn’t won a race since October 2021. He’s also had to undergo four surgeries since injuring his arm at the start of 2020. Moreover, Honda has struggled with an uncompetitive package in the last two seasons.
It’s been no secret that Marquez had been looking for other opportunities. His response after testing the 2024 Honda prototype at Misano only further added to that speculation.
Speaking at the Indian GP, Marquez said, “We tried out the new prototype, and there were some interesting things. But in the end, the overall performance was same or in my case, a bit worse.”
A move to Gresini Racing, where he’ll race alongside his brother Alex Marquez, hasn’t been officially confirmed. But this is understood to just be a formality.
Also see:
India part of 2024 MotoGP provisional calendar
India MotoGP: Key talking points