Sayonara, Honda. Ciao, Ducati. We can not wait any more. The uncertainty is over. There are still six MotoGP grands prix left in 2023, but it is already known which bike Marc Márquez will ride in next season’s World Championship. It can already be said. Adèsso, yes. Now yes. It was officially announced, with these words, by the Racing Gresini team this Thursday. The eight-time world champion will ride a Ducati Desmosedici GP23 after eleven years, his entire career, linked to Honda.
“I am excited about this new challenge,” declared the Cervera driver, stuck in the Japanese brand. October 24 will mark two years since his last victory, in Emilia-Romagna. “It has not been an easy decision. It will be a big change in all aspects. Sometimes in life you have to get out of your comfort zone. I had everything at Honda, but I have prioritized my sporting career,” explained the 93, who signs for one season.
The eldest of the Márquez family, 30 years old, does not care that he will not have the latest version of the Ducati, the official one. Yours will be the one of this course, being on a satellite team. His priority is different. He wants to enjoy and smile and look competitive again. For now he does not set podiums and victories as his goal. “I was looking for something very different. It is a very, very risky option. For me, having it go well is not winning; It is to have a good time on the motorcycle to continue with my sporting career, which I hope will have many years left in me,” he reflected.
One of the factors that made Marc opt for the Gresini team was the tact with which they approached him. “He is one of the only ones who didn’t put any kind of pressure on me. They told me: ‘We’ll wait for you and give you all the time you want,’” he revealed. He will only have a mechanic with him.
“For Gresini Racing it is a historic moment. The fact that Marc Márquez has chosen to race with us next season is absolutely fantastic,” confesses Nadia Padovani, widow of Fausto Gresini, about the arrival of the six-time MotoGP champion.
The team has 18 victories in the premier category. From the first, which Sete Gibernau conquered in 2003, to the last, in 2022, led by Enea Bastianini. As if that were not enough, in her new house he will meet her brother Àlex Márquez. “I was hoping to have a partner who was fast, but not one that fast,” Àlex said.
The news of the signing was the talk in the Indonesian paddock, where there is a race this Sunday. “Without a doubt he will find a good base in Ducati, the best there is right now in the championship. It won’t take much time to be fast,” predicted Pecco Bagnaia, the World Championship leader on the official bike. “This way we can compare ourselves with Marc, one of the best drivers in history. I think it will be very interesting,” Jorge Martín, who is in second, welcomed him. Ducati power attracts.