Red Bull Motorsports
MotoGP
How Marc Márquez plans to get back among the best in MotoGP™
With preseason behind him, the moment of truth has arrived for Marc Márquez. He has a new bike, new team and new goals, but the same philosophy as always: give 100 percent and compete with the best.
The MotoGP™ World Championship has started a new chapter since Marc Márquez ended his journey with Honda, after 11 years spent sharing huge achievements and, particularly over the past four of those years, some great hardships too. Although Márquez was reluctant to leave the team that had given him almost everything - six MotoGP™ World Championships, 59 victories, 101 podiums, 64 pole positions, 59 fastest laps and 2,626 points - he finally took the offer from Gresini Racing, the team where his brother, Álex, has been riding since last season, to add a new challenge and a fresh start to his career.
Now, a few days before the start of the new season, we spoke with him to give us a brief review of how his preseason has gone and how he hopes to see his year unfolding with a new team and a Ducati that has been making its mark on the premier class for two long years.
Marc, the image of your smile in the November tests went around the world, are you still smiling or are things a little more serious now we near the start of the World Championship?
New season, new team
© David Goldman/Red Bull Content Pool
As you say, the road from Honda to Ducati isn't an easy one: how have you approached the change after so many years with the same marque?
Obviously, when you're in training you have time to think, adapt and correct mistakes calmly. The issue becomes more acute when there are limits, such as in a qualifying or a race in its last laps. After 11 years riding the same bike I have these habits that come naturally to me, but little by little I hope to change them and adapt my riding style to what the Ducati demands.
After 11 years riding the same bike I have these habits that come naturally to me.
What are the main challenges and opportunities your new team and bike present?
The main challenge is to improve with an upward progression, to have fun on the bike again, to fight for the top positions in some races and, from there, to create a good base to gain confidence again. Naturally, after four years marked by injuries, we are looking for a way for me to regain my smile on a bike and rebuild the confidence that I've been losing since 2020. The team is very familiar, where external expectations are very high, but internally we know very well where we come from, what we have to do and everything takes time.
Pushing the limit has its risks
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It's a bit early, but where do you see yourself at the end of the year?
I don't like to mark a position or a result, but I will try to have a solid season and little by little, as I have done during the preseason, gain confidence. Mistakes are going to be made, because over the course of 21 Grands Prix it's easy to make mistakes, but we'll have to learn from them. However, in general I will tell you that I am happy with the preseason we've had and we'll try to be consistent at some circuits, even if it's just a one-off, to fight for the top positions.
We talk about everything between us and we help each other for the good of the team.
You used to share the team with Álex and now the roles have been reversed. Does he advise you? How do you both handle the work of developing the bike? Do you tell each other everything or do you keep some things to yourselves?
Any part or material that we test, we talk about openly, because the set-up of a bike can be beneficial for some and detrimental for others. Each rider has his riding style, his way of tackling the corners or the way he positions himself on the bike, and the whole thing can be very different. But it's clear that we talk about everything between us and we help each other for the good of the team and, of course, because we both want the best for each other.
How has the preseason been?
I've taken the preseason very calmly, but always from less to more. In both the Malaysia and Qatar tests I started a bit too far from my rivals, but on the second day I was closer and so on. Now we will see if in the Grand Prix we can be a little bit closer from Friday practice.
Throughout the winter testing we've been discovering things about the bike. It's helped me a lot to go to a team that already knew the bike and knows what it needs, and this helps to have a more solid base.
Márquez will try to create his own season
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What's a day in the Gresini office like? What is the secret to getting communication flowing in a new team?
Mutual trust is essential for communication to flow properly and that is only possible by spending time with the team. Logically, after 11 years working with HRC, even 14 years with some of the mechanics, a look was enough to understand each other. Gresini is a very familiar team, a group where I feel very comfortable and little by little we are getting to know each other. In the preseason tests we've focused a lot on getting up to speed, but from now on, when the season starts, there will be time to get to know each other better.
Mutual trust is essential for communication to flow as it should.
Do you think that 2024 could be your year?
I don't think it could be my year. I just think I will try to create my own year. That doesn't mean I'm going to win the title, although if we win it all the better, but as of today it's not the most realistic expectation. We will try to create a good base and try to make sure that my upward progression doesn't stop throughout the season.
