Marc Marquez: I heard the rumours, I have a two-year MotoGP contract with Honda
The Spanish star signed a lengthy four-year agreement, covering the 2021-2024 seasons, just a few month🅘s before the start of his arm injury woes in 20ꦅ20.
While Marquez’s arm has responded well to a fourth round of surgery in June, Honda’s RC213V finished last season at the bottom of the constructors’ ranking ꦯand - for the second time in three years - without a race win.
That has fuelled rumours thatꦇ the eight-time world champion, a Repsol Honda rider since his 2013 MotoGP debut, might be able to trigger some kind of exit clause for 2024.
- MotoGP 2024 rider line-up: The contr꧋act situation🍸 so far
- 🎉Marquez to Mir: If one Repsol Honda rider cannot win, the other must!
- FIRST LOOK: Marquez, Mir present 2023 Reps💦ol Honda livery
“I heard about these rumours,” Marquez told MotoGP.com. “I have a two-year contract with Honda and my dream is to come back to the top with Honda. I believe a lot in them, we respect each other a lot. We have a long relationship and I think this will✨ help us to go out of this deep situation.”
Speaking separately at Wednesday's Repsol Honda team l🐼aunch, Marquez admitted he had applied pressure on Honda but that now is the time to be ‘patient’.
“As you saw in the [Marc Marquez: All In] documenta🍷ry, you have to understand when you can put pressure or not,” he explained. “Sometimes you have to do something to have 🍎a reaction…and Honda also makes demands of me.
“Sometimes you must push as 🏅a rider. For example, there was a time to push Honda and now is the time to be patient and work together. We have a very long relationship and we respect each other a🔯 lot."
The 30-year-old added: "As you see in the docu-series, in Austria [2022] we had a nice and productive meeting with Honda and HRC. It was the t♎ime to do it and react for 2023.
"It was time to do some change and also HRC recognise it was the time and they did it. For example, [changing] the technical manager to Kenꦫ-san [Kawauchi].
“I a🅺m convinced that we will come back to the top together.
“The patience now is very big 🌄and totally recharged… We have two m🀅ore years of contract where the target is to fight for the world championship and to put Honda where it should be.”
Marc's younger brother🌟 Alex has switched from Honda to Ducati for this season and finished ahead of💖 his brother at the recent Sepang test.
Yamaha’s Franco Morbidelli 𒁏is the only factory team rider who🌼se contract expires at the end of 2023.
Peter has been in♈ the paddock for 20 years and has seen Valentino Rossi come and go. He is at the forefront of the Suzuki exit story and Marc Marquez’s injury issues.
