SETTING SUN

What once seemed like a partnership thicker than blood looks set to end on a whimper

- GAURAV DAVARE

In the realm of sporting competitions, there’s a once in a generation scenario where you come across a powerhouse, a juggernaut or a dream team. It just screams perfection every time you see it and an impossible bar of success is set to the admiration or envy of fellow competitors. Certain examples come to mind, like Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls, Michael Schumacher and Ferrari, as well as Sébastien Loeb and Citroën's utter WRC domination, Jonathan Rea and Kawasaki in the World Superbike Championship and of course the Valentino Rossi and Yamaha era in MotoGP.

Such is the standard of perfection from these partnerships that you’d think they are unbreakable. But such things are a cycle and they do eventually come to an end. And now it's the end of an era of another such titanic partnership, which is the one between six-time premier class champion Marc Marquez and the Repsol Honda MotoGP team. After what seemed like a forever bond stretching 11 years, the two parties have decided to part ways after the 2023 season with a year still left on their four-year contract with Marquez heading to Gresini Racing onboard a 2023 Ducati for the 2024 season. The tremors from this move feel quite jarring and for good reason, as at its peak, Marquez and Honda were an unstoppable force. So how did this come about? Let’s take a look at everything that led to this moment.