Alex Marquez after leaving the Honda team: I will not keep following a team



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Alex Marquez after leaving the Honda team: I will not keep following a team

Alex Marquez will be part of the Gresini Ducati team starting next season. Marquez will leave the Honda team considering that the change was necessary for him and that he was not motivated enough. “I spoke with Lucio in Sachsenring for the future directly to the team manager, which is the best thing to approach and to see what the people want,” Marquez said, as quoted by motorsport.

This is the main thing. I already opened up to him and I said ‘Lucio, I think I need a change. I think you as a team also need a change and I don’t have motivation to stay here. I’m really happy with the team but I think I need a change of bike.

In that moment I didn’t have anything on the table, so I said to him ‘maybe I will be at home [next year]. But I will not keep following a team that I don’t have the motivation for, especially in the bike." Suzuki rider Alex Rins will replace Marquez.

Marquez is happy that he got the chance to race in the next season. He believed that it would be difficult to find a team and was ready for a one-year break. “So, from that moment they started to speak with Rins, I started to speak with other teams.

Luckily for me I had the opportunity with Gresini and Ducati. “Honestly [not riding in 2023] was an option because the step to go to Superbikes or another championship was not on the table at that point. “I said ‘Ok, if I don’t have a space here I will stop for one year and then I will see what the goal is in life’.

Luckily, I had this option with Gresini, but to do other things in life was on the table – honestly speaking”.

Honda wanted to make a change

Honda already considered during the season to replace Marquez, which was an additional motive for him to find another team and to lose motivation.

“I think for both parties it was the same feeling, to make a change for them because from Honda also they have felt to change the riders for some reason,” he continued. “I will not go really into that because I have another opinion.

“But it was also a Honda decision that they wanted to change the riders, to change Pol [Espargaro], to change me, we will see what happens with Taka [Nakagami]. “For me it was really clear to follow in this position was not an option for me”.