Marc Márquez (30) ran out of tears from crying so much in Cheste.
Eleven years are not left behind as if nothing had happened. Eleven years, a third of the life of the Cervera driver, three quarters of his career in the World Championship, leave an indelible mark. This Sunday, with a fall resulting from his own medicine – the excess of impetus, but from a close rival like Jorge Martín –, the multiple champion said goodbye to Honda, the factory with which he has triumphed in MotoGP, and to the group of people with the that has grown, the Repsol Honda team. He sent them an emotional “see you soon,” not a “goodbye.”
“I couldn't say goodbye to Honda in the best way with the fall, but at least I got a podium in the Sprint and the good feelings of the race. I think that today it was possible to fight for the podium. Jorge was very optimistic with that advance, but I understand it, I understand his situation. He asked me for forgiveness and I accepted it. But this does not change the emotions of this weekend,” said a thoughtful, mature Marc Márquez, with a very well-crafted speech to the press.
He reiterated a message that implied a reflection on the future: “It's not goodbye, it's see you soon,” he said in a farewell video of the team that he posted on his social networks, and he said it again to the media. Does this mean that he plans to return to Honda after his time at Ducati? In fact, the president of HRC himself, Koji Watanabe, on Saturday at the private farewell held by the team, opened the doors for a possible return in the future.
“Honda has been the most special team in my heart. I am not going to close any doors for the future, neither from Honda nor from any other brand; When we talk about separating our paths, we agree not to tighten the rope too much to maintain a relationship of respect,” explained the man from Cervera when asked by this newspaper about the meaning of his phrase. “Maybe in the future our paths can cross again. It depends on whether I give gas, the more doors I will have open. There is no secret. I know that Honda will be the team and the colors with which I will have won the most no matter how long my career lasts,” commented the Catalan. “I will not close any doors. I hope I have many years left in my career, so I will look for the best place [to run] to have the best options to achieve my goals.” If that place will be Honda, “you never know what will happen.”
From his eleven seasons at the Japanese firm, within the official Repsol Honda team, Márquez takes “above all his friends, which is the most important thing. I have cried a lot in the box and in the truck with my technicians; “I take away the friendship,” confessed the 93rd. “It has been a very emotional story at Honda, with six titles.”
The Cervera pilot discovered one of the most emotional moments he had experienced during his farewell. “Emotionally it has been harder than I expected, it was very hard in the afternoon [Saturday], the great Japanese bosses and Alberto Puig crying, it is not easy to see that, it excites you and your whole body moves, it shows me the esteem and trust they have given me. “I feel happy and proud of my group,” 93 also explained excitedly.
In his farewell video, Marc utters a final phrase that sums up his love for the team. “Repsol Honda Team, I will never tire of repeating it: you have been, you are and you will always be my family.” A family formed by Santi Hernández, his chief engineer, and older brother, who has accompanied him since 2011, Carlos Liñán (49), chief mechanic, and the technicians Jordi Castellà, Javi Ortiz, Roberto Ginetto Clerici, Carlo Liuzzi and Sergio Notary.
A very good family that will be missing from Ducati starting this Tuesday in its first test.
