Marc Marquez leaves Honda; Will move to Gresini in 2024

Marc Marquez joined Honda in 2013 and won the MotoGP championship in his debut season with the team.

8-time MotoGP World Champion Marc Marquez will be leaving the Honda Racing team at the end of the 2023 season. As per reports, the decision to end the contract was via a mutual agreement between Marquez and the team, ending an 11-year partnership which yielded 6 world titles.

Marc Marquez joined Honda in 2013 and won the MotoGP championship in his debut season with the team. The Spaniard further went on to win his second title in 2014, before winning another 4 championships in a row between 2016 - 2019.

In 2020, however, Marquez suffered a serious arm injury, which derailed his 2020 season and also affected his form between 2020 and 2022. This, along with the less competitive bikes in the last couple of seasons, meant Marquez has only won three races since 2021.

While Honda and Marquez have announced the end of their partnership, Gresini is yet to officially announce him for the 2024 season. Marquez will race with the Faenza-based team next season, alongside his brother Alex Marquez.

Reports state that while the Italian team were keen on extending Marquez's contract beyond 2024, the world champ is said to want "absolute freedom" to consider his future in 2025 when the majority of the MotoGP riders' contracts expire.

Marquez is also said to have made attempts to bring along his technicians to Gresini, however, that didn't happen. Ducati was reluctant to show the innards of the dominant bike to engineers, who, in 2025, would be free to sign for any competing team.

Source: Motorsport