Marc Marquez ‘in no rush’ to decide future after links to factory team emerge

After alleged comments from Davide Tardozzi suggesting Marc Marquez could be a possibility for the second Lenovo Ducati seat, the eight-time was asked about it during the press conference ahead of the Portimao MotoGP.

Marquez said: “My situation is completely different to the past. In December I signed the contract for the next year and right now I’m not in a rush.

• Maverick Vinales tips ‘strong’ Aprilia weekend: ‘Seeing the downforce…’ 
• Francesco Bagnaia: Training with Panigale ‘can help’, but MotoGP ‘is another thing’

“I just want to concentrate on myself and do the best I can on the race track. I know that if I enjoy it and I’m fast then I will have more possibilities to choose a seat. 

“But until now I don’t want to speak. I want to concentrate on myself, focus on Qatar, focus here, some races will be better, some will be worse and I will try to do my 100%.

“I know that in this sport comes the present, not the past. The present is like this because there are two, three, four riders quicker than me.”

Marquez, who claimed two top five finishes on his Ducati debut in Qatar, was one of the standout performers as he looks to get on par with the likes of Francesco Bagnaia and Jorge Martin.

Pushed further on whether he would prefer the pressure of being in a factory team or if choosing to have a full factory bike at Gresini would be his preferred choice, Marquez gave very little away.

“I will not answer the second question,” smiled Marquez. “I’m concentrating on myself and doing my best on the race track and like this I will have more opportunities.

“The pressure is the same because the riders are happy if they are in the podium. The teams are happy if they are on the podium and it's a target of this team.

“Being on the podium is better than the top five and winning a race is better than a podium. In the end, to have a good atmosphere and have some jokes, doesn't mean you don’t have pressure or ambition. 

“The ambition is the same as a factory team because we are here to fight for the best result possible. 

“But it’s true that there are less people in the team and it is more like a family. In the Repsol Honda team the atmosphere was correct but the culture is different between Japanese, Italian, Spanish and American. Every atmosphere is good if the results are good.”

Marquez was part of a mouth-watering battle against rookie sensation Pedro Acosta in Qatar.

The latter looks destined to become a MotoGP great, something Marquez is and has been for a very long time.

Marquez ultimately won that battle as Acosta faded with rear tyre wear, but the Gresini rider expects Acosta to be a consistent presence at the front of MotoGP going forward.

“I already said last year and I reconfirmed after Qatar he will be one of the guys in the future of MotoGP and the present, because as he showed in Qatar, he has enough talent,” said Marquez.

“When you are super talented you are fast with any type of bike.

“He was really fast in those laps and I’m sure he has learned about managing the tyres. 

“I’m sure he will be much better in the next races.”