RiderTua.com – For Marc Marquez, the 2024 MotoGP season will be a very important year for the Cervera rider, and also a historic season for Gresini Racing. A combination that has left MotoGP fans and observers discussing and debating for months, spreading great expectations and expectations. After four years of hardship with Honda, the eight-time world champion will ride the Ducati Desmosedici GP to show all his talents again and before making a decision on his future.
In an interview Marc Marquez and his brother Alex spoke a few days before the start of the 2024 MotoGP in Qatar, which will start from March 8 to 10. The two brothers already shared the same garage at the start of 2020, while at the Repsol Honda team, before serious injuries at Jerez ended a complicated period. The 31-year-old world champion from Cervera certainly never stops joking, remembering his first fight with Alex when he arrived at the Gresini garage. “I spent my whole sporting career on the right side of the garage and he (Alex) is now on the right side. I told the Gresini team manager that I wanted to be on the right side, but he answered ‘your brother doesn’t want to move’. I I have to give up!” he said jokingly.
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Marc Marquez Aims to Beat All Ducati Riders?
Marc finished his first pre-season test on the Ducati Desmosedici in good form, although his adaptation to the Ducati is still a work in progress. It is not easy to change your racing style after more than a decade using a Honda RCV bike, as well as adapting to technology made by Ducati such as holeshot, for example, which is different from Honda’s holeshot. That every bike has a style that suits it and its own secret to making it successfully tamed. The bike (Ducati) is great, but we have to ride it in a certain way. For 11 years I rode a Honda bike with a certain racing style and now to change to another bike I have to try in many areas of the circuit. In testing we drove calmly, but if we do fast laps or if the weather is too hot then the other bike’s shortcomings will become apparent. That’s something we have to automate (adapt).”
From Honda to Ducati Gresini…tough decision
Leaving the Honda team was not an easy decision, in the end Marc Marquez did not regret it. “Once we get it, it’s the right one. We’ll see how it ends. But the sacrifice is huge, there are friendships for 11 or 12 years. It’s difficult… there are sponsors for life. An athlete sometimes needs those limiting moments that he needs to continue his sports career. This is not a blowout. I want to continue my career and this is the time to do it.”
Regarding expectations considering his next MotoGP commitments, the newcomer to the Gresini team remains open to all possibilities. He will try to attack in every race, even though it is difficult to aim for the title after several years of difficulties. In pre-season testing Marc tried to be patient (not aggressive)… “We’ll see in the race… People said ‘he (Marc) will come to Ducati and beat everyone, but that’s not the case. After two years without winning race, I can’t approach the championship thinking about winning the world championship. First I have to score points, top 5 positions, then the podium… little by little,” he concluded.
