Marc Marquez teases possibility to “earn” a better-spec Ducati “on the track”
Marquez, who will ride for Gresini Ducati alongside his brother Alex, will also be aboard the same machinery as Marco Bezzecchi and Luca Marini.
That means the two factory Lenovo and Pramac Ducati riders will be aboard a 2024 machine, however, Marquez did not rule out the possibility of a better-spec bike.
- Quartararo: “Pace is more or less there, but the starting position is critical”
- Zarco ruled out of Honda options; another rider advised to “hang on, do nothing”
Speaking to AS, Marquez said: “Well, from what I understand you earn it on the track. If you go faster they give you more things and if you go less fast then you have less things. I will have to earn it on the track.”
As part of his move to Gresini Ducati, Marquez will have a new crew chief for the first time in his MotoGP career.
Marquez will be teaming up with Frankie Carchedi, who aided Joan Mir during the Spaniard’s title-winning season with Suzuki in 2020.
Asked if he’s spoken with Carchedi since the announcement, Marquez added: “No not yet. At the moment I have spoken with the Gresini team and that is one of the steps to get involved with the entire team.”
“But I want to take the steps little by little and for now I have to focus on what I have to focus on, on Honda, and finish this relationship on the right foot. Let's see if we can do it based on results.”
Santi Hernandez is not the only member of Marquez’s Repsol Honda team that won’t be moving across to Gresini, as only mechanic Javi Ortiz has been signed by the Ducati outfit.
“Yes, Javi is coming, he is the only one who will come, and yes, in fact, I have to thank Honda that Javi can come with me,” said Marquez.
“The rest of the team stays and obviously it will be very strange to see them work with another rider, but I think it will be even stranger for them, so I wish them the best and I hope they have a good rider to be able to fight where they deserve.”
Marquez is expected to make his Ducati debut at the post-season test in Valencia, despite saying: “It is not confirmed one hundred percent.”
