"It's not going to be the same... But we'll have to get used to it, now to continue working with whoever comes...", Carlos Liñán (L'Espluga de Francolí, 1974), head of mechanics, said with an excited voice, while collecting the post-race belongings. of the Repsol Honda team for the last eleven years, and with Marc Márquez since 2011, when he recruited him for the Emilio Alzamora Moto2 team.
As for Santi Hernández, Jordi Castellà or Javi Ortiz, Márquez's family in MotoGP, for Liñán nothing will be the same on motorcycles without the 93 in the box: today a new era begins in Cheste with the multiple champion changing house, changing motorcycle , of collaborators, with its debut in the Gresini Team, Ducati's satellite structure.
Having swept away the confetti from the Cheste podium where two-time champion Pecco Bagnaia was awarded, the 2024 preseason starts at the Ricardo Tormo (from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.) with the 22 MotoGP riders testing their new mounts for next year, and with a good handful of swaps . A third of the grid changes bikes: six riders change teams –Di Giannantonio, Zarco, Rins, Morbidelli and Marini, Márquez's replacement at Repsol Honda–, and the Moto2 champion, Pedro Acosta, arrives in the premier class , in Pol Espargaró's position at Gas Gas. A good shake on the grill.
Without a doubt, the piece movement that can change everything in 2024 is that of Marc Márquez on a Ducati, the dominating motorcycle of the last two years, after spending four blank periods between injuries, operations and the inability of a Honda that It has fallen technically far behind, one of the worst in its displacement. The arrival of the 93 to the Gresini team – for a single year – is seen in the paddock as a winning bet in the short term, given the sum of talent and accumulated hunger of the Catalan, and the power of the Italian machine (even though it is a unit 2023).
That is why many have no doubt that Márquez will be, under normal conditions and if injuries do not torture him, a strong contender for the title. “He can perfectly win almost all the races,” commented Pol Espargaró, who will not be on the MotoGP grid for the first time since it debuted in 2014. The one from Granollers, who will act as KTM tester and reserve rider, considers that the de Cervera is more than qualified to compete for the crown that he stopped winning in 2020. “Di Giannantonio does not have a better track record and has achieved very good results, in the top 2-5 in the last races, and Marc surpasses him in talent. Can he apply for the title? Why not? If Martín has been able to be champion with a satellite motorcycle, Marc could also with a very similar motorcycle even if it is a year older.”
Evidently, Márquez puts on the brakes when the expectations of his new life adventure arise, in the face of which he cannot help but feel a certain vertigo. “I am starting a new chapter and I have doubts, even though it was my decision, because I am leaving my people, the team of my life. I have never had a challenge like this, it is a very risky challenge. The most comfortable situation for me would have been to continue at Honda and I am going to take on a new challenge,” says Márquez, who considers a good and quick adaptation to the bike and the new group of collaborators essential as a first step.
“It will be very difficult to adapt, but I think the fact that Gresini is a family team will help,” and that his brother Alex is in the garage next door. “If you don't understand the bike and don't adapt, I won't do well. Next year I will answer the questions little by little, not all of them will be answered in the test. I have the example of my brother, I'll see how long it takes. I have been working with the same group of people for 12 years, with which I have achieved 7 titles.”
After four seasons experiencing more misfortunes than joys since the fateful fall of Jerez in July 2020, Márquez's objective with the change of life to Ducati is “to enjoy again, to smile, for things to work out, to stick his head out.” ahead more constantly…”, the one from Cervera commented to La Vanguardia. "It will be one of the main things I would like, but to achieve the objectives I have to go step by step, I need time, calm, to escape from all the expectation, and focus on my garage."
