WHY DID MARC Márquez quit a hugely lucrative factory Honda ride to race a secondhand Ducati for an independent team?
The six-time MotoGP king ended the first half of last season crashing Honda's uncompetitive RC213V seven times during German and Dutch grands prix in the month of June. Even for Márquez, who has always ridden the ragged edge, that was a lot. He knew he could not go on like that.
After the summer break, I said to myself, "I will ride more calmly", so I started riding in a safety way,' says the 30-year-old Spaniard. But that was so boring! For me, it was like a nightmare to go to a circuit and ride in easy mode and fight for 15th place.
I said to myself, "Can I do one more year like this?" [Márquez's Honda contract was due to run to the end of 2024]. This was the main question. With my character, can I do one more year like this or will I stop racing in the middle of the season?
At one race, I was like, "Okay, I will stay with Honda". At the next, it was like..." He sighs with exasperation....I cannot continue racing like this.
In the end, I decided to leave my comfort zone, because I felt like I must do this to continue racing for longer. Honda have time to build a better bike, but athletes don't have time. I didn't want to retire and have the doubt of if, if, if... So, I had to take the risk and go there [to Gresini Ducati] and let's see. No excuses! I'm like this. I prefer to take the risk, even though it may not be a success. I have to take the risk and try.
Nothing is certain in motorcycle racing, but Márquez is moving to a team equipped with Ducati Desmosedicis, so most people in the know have no doubts that he will be a 2024 title challenger.
Denne historien er fra February 2024-utgaven av Bike India.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent ? Logg på
Denne historien er fra February 2024-utgaven av Bike India.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
Bagnaia Wins the Battle; Martin Wins the War
Despite Bagnaia's best efforts, Martin hung on to third place on Sunday to seal the deal and take home the champion's trophy at the conclusion of a long 2024 season
Navaneeth and Yogesh Crowned Champions
Dynamic weather around Coimbatore was the perfect backdrop to end the 2024 JK Tyre Royal Enfield Continental GT Cup season in fine style.
DRIFTASTIC
TVS have modified a bunch of Ronin motorcycles for flat-track racing. They invited us over to spend an afternoon learning how to turn right to go left
Quarter Mile of Thrills
The Valley Run 2024 Winter Edition was a weekend of high-octane speeds, a celebration of bike culture as well as an event that witnessed records being shattered by an unlikely competitor
Pure Community
Motoverse is the easiest way of understanding Royal Enfield's diversity
Revolt Against City Traffic
As a commuter motorcycle, the Revolt RV1+ brings a lot in its package at a competitive price. We hopped on this electric motorcycle to check its practicality around the city
Vibe Check
With the launch of the Goan Classic 350, Royal Enfield have wrapped up the year of the Classic well
Tiny Yet Mighty
Enter the BMW CE 02, a 15-hp e-scooter that looks more like a design project dreamt up by a skateboarding intern than a production two-wheeler, but in terms of youth appeal and, yes, that X-factor, it is taking no prisoners
Ducati Revamp Powerful Multistrada 14 S
At face value, it appears Ducati have only mildly tweaked the Multistrada V4 S for 2025, which is why we arrived in Perugia, Italy, a few hours north of Rome, expecting a couple of easy days on the classy adventure-tourer. However, it quickly became apparent that despite only mildly updating the Multi's familiar looks, beneath the bodywork lies a vast number of updates that Ducati hope will make the bestselling Multi (and best-selling Ducati globally) even more versatile than before
This Bear is Royal and Friendly
The first ride of the Royal Enfield Bear 650, spanning eight hours, was held in California. Here is our first impression
