This Tuesday, November 28, on a cold morning at the Cheste circuit, Marc Márquez began his new era in MotoGP at the controls of a Ducati from the Gresini team. The driver from Cervera leaves behind 11 years at Repsol Honda to try to win again with an Italian machine, which on its first day sported personalized colors, red and navy blue, with the 93 as the only logo.
And the start didn’t go badly at all: in his first 8-lap stint with the Ducati, the man from Cervera set the third best time of the 22 riders on the track. A good sign.
Marc Márquez’s debut with the Ducati was long in coming in Cheste. The first preseason training session of 2024 was scheduled to start at 10 in the morning, but the cold and wind delayed the start of practices.
Márquez arrived at the Gresini box at 10:18 a.m. at the controls of an electric scooter, with a smile on his face, but he did not emerge from the garage on his new motorcycle until 11:14 a.m.
In Gresini’s box, Nadia Padovani, the owner of the Italian structure, widow of Fausto Gresini, was waiting for him with excitement on her face, who has seen how a multiple champion like Marc joins the ranks of a modest team like hers, a satellite of Ducati.
Due to contractual requirements, since Márquez is officially a Honda driver until December 31, the Catalan could not wear the light blue colors of Gresini Racing. He decorated his motorcycle with navy blue and red tones, very reminiscent of Blaugrana, and with the 93 as the only logo on the fairing.
The driver from Cervera completed a first round of eight consecutive laps on a cold track, although it helped him set the third best time among the 22 drivers on the track at 11:30. As the laps and minutes passed, Bagnaia and Martín, the champion and the runner-up, overtook him, but no one could erase Marc Márquez’s smile when he returned to his box.
Márquez’s premiere generated great expectation at the Ricardo Tormo circuit, which sold out the 3,500 tickets that were put on sale.