Marc Márquez got on the podium again – in a Sunday race – almost a year after the last one (2nd in Australia'22, on October 16, 2022), and he did it in Motegi. "This is a romantic story, the first podium of the year had to come at Honda's house, with the bosses...", commented the man from Cervera, who contrary to what he said in Madrid on September 12 before Spanish media or in Neither India nor Japan has clarified where he will race in 2024. A senior Ducati official, Gigi dall'Igna, did it for him on the Italian channel Sky.
Ducati's top sports official assumed that Márquez will race with the Ducati Gresini: "Marc has been one of the strongest riders in history, so the fact that he wants to get on a Ducati can only make us happy," said the engineer. .
“[Marc] has decided to leave a Honda to get on an unofficial Ducati [from the Gresini team], so he underlines the fact that he wants our bike and that can only be a pleasure.” The Italian coach asserted, however, that “there is nothing official yet. There are many things to do, there is a complicated contract to break, in case he clearly wants to break it. But it seems to me that the statements he has made are these, and from our point of view it is pleasing.”
Meanwhile, Márquez yesterday continued playing the game of confusion on Dazn's microphone with another phrase open to all kinds of interpretations: “We will see what happens, but one thing does not take away the other, my commitment to the brand [Honda] has always been and will always be 100%”, he noted mysteriously.
As it could not be otherwise, in Motegi Márquez met with HRC's senior staff to exchange opinions and, in theory, address his continuity in the winged brand. Nothing transpired, so rumors and jokes continued to spread through the paddock. Even rivals trolled him.
The last to do so in public was Pecco Bagnaia at the official post-race press conference. "Bye, bye, Honda" he launched provocatively at Márquez, next to him. And he added: "Now play the kiss like Valentino", in reference to the one Rossi gave to his Yamaha when he won his first race after leaving Honda.
“Do you know the song [by The Clash] Should I stay or should I go?” Crutchlow asked him in the truck that takes the drivers around the track before the race. And Miller did not hesitate: “Where are you going to go next year?” "I'm not enjoying it, I spend sleepless nights, thinking a lot and I'm suffering."
