Why ‘Moto2-like’ Gresini MotoGP team was so important to Marc Marquez
Eight-time world champion reveals crucial boost Gresini gave him in 2024
Marc Marquez says his year with Gresini Racing in MotoGP “reminded me a bit of the passion for motorbikes” and likened the atmosphere to that of a Moto2 outfit.
The Spaniard took a big risk in his career as results began to fade to quit the factory Honda squad a year early at the end of 2023 to take a GP23 Ducati at Gresini last season.
Marquez made the move to understand if he could still be fast in MotoGP and enjoy himself, after four tough years since 2020 when he suffered his career-altering arm injury.
The eight-time world champion went on to win three grands prix - marking his first victories since 2021 - and earned a factory Ducati contract for 2025.
Speaking to the media - including Crash.net - at the final round of the season, Marquez says working with Gresini reminded him of his “passion” for racing.
“Being in a satellite team reminded me a bit of the passion for motorbikes,” he said.
“Of course, at Honda - as you know - I had my friends there and I had a very good human team.
“But the fact is, to be in a factory team everything is a bit more serious.
“So, this one everything is like more casual, more familiar. And it reminds you, of course in another way, like a Moto2 team when I was there - like, you speak with the boss of the team.
“So, the ones who take the final decisions, you can go to Nadia [Padovani] in this case and speak with her, [say] ‘I think this’ [and she’ll say] ‘Ok, we can go ahead’.
“And of course, the most important thing is they have the bike.
“A satellite team with a good bike, you can achieve very good things, as I did this year, as the other riders did the previous years with Gresini.
“And they have a very long history and very long experience to manage different kinds of situations.”
Marquez confirmed last week that his move to the factory Ducati squad will see him end his personal sponsorship with Red Bull, though isn’t set to become a Monster Energy athlete.
Crash.net recently sat down with Marquez’s 2024 crew chief Frankie Carchedi to discuss the 2024 season in a special edition of the Crash MotoGP Podcast, which can be found below.
