Marc Márquez leaving Honda is seem by many as a big blow for HRC given the time the manufacturer had to show signs of building a stronger bike for the next season, ending up with the rider coming to end the contract he had with the giant japanese while there was still one more season to fulfil. Alberto Puig says he felt ‘very disappointed’ with the rider leaving.

The Team Manager was asked by AS if he saw Márquez leaving as ‘a failure’, the spaniard commented: ‘Well, on a personal level I’m very disappointed, because the relationship I have with Marc is very good. On a company level, it’s obvious that we haven’t been able to make the bike he needed. It is also true that they have been very bad years. We have taken his worst years, because everything with the shoulder has been very complicated for him and for us’.

Puig them said that there was a lot of things happening that added up until the rider decided to leave: ‘In the end, there has been an accumulation of circumstances, almost all of them negative, which have not helped at all. I think that if Marc hadn’t had that accident in Jerez, things would have been different. He wouldn’t have stopped, he would have been on the bike and, surely, the bike would have evolved in a different way. Although talking about everything in the past is no good, of course’.

With Márquez already confirmed at Gresini, Puig says he hopes to see #93 perform well, and even taking wins, but assures he wants to beat him:

– When I have been with a rider who has left I have always been happy with his results. And in Marc’s case, probably even more so, because of the way he has treated me on a personal level. Obviously, he is a champion and all the fans of the motorbike world and all of us who feel involved in this, in my case having also been a rider, know that if he did well and won again it would be a milestone and, of course, I would be happy. I will be happy if Marquez wins again, but I want to beat him. That doesn’t take away from the fact that I work at Honda, that we have to develop a bike, that we are going to have riders and that our objective is to win, whoever it is.

O conteúdo Márquez leaving Honda left Alberto Puig ‘very disappointed’ but he still will be happy to see him win aparece primeiro em Motorcycle Sports.

Honda has struggled over the last few years and it’s been the other manufacturers who have excelled, as happened with Suzuki in 2020 when Joan Mir – currently with Repsol Honda – won the title, or the following year when Fabio Quartararo became champion, before the Ducati began to take centre stage in MotoGP. Casey Stoner thinks that such a situation… is strange.

During the MotoGP round in his home country, Stoner spoke about the state of the manufacturer and apologised to the team: ‘Honda have been struggling for a couple of years. It’s easy to sit on the outside and say «the team haven’t been doing a good job, but it’s not actually the team. It goes way further above than that. We’re not sure how much effort they’re putting into the racing’.

In the australian’s opinion, some recent changes could be at the root of the problems, with this «delay» of the structure not singular to Honda, but to the japanese manufacturers, he recalled, since Yamaha is also in a less positive phase:

– I know there were a few position changes in Japan and it seems to be affecting the team.The two Japanese manufacturers seem to be a step or two behind. The European manufacturers got on top of everything a bit quicker, they’re ahead of the game. It’s puzzling that the Japanese manufacturers are equally behind the Europeans.

O conteúdo ‘The japanese manufacturers seem to be behind while europeans got everything a bit quicker and are ahead of the game’ – Casey Stoner aparece primeiro em Motorcycle Sports.

For the first time in his career, Marc Márquez will ride a motorcycle other than a Honda in MotoGP – he joins Gresini aboard a Ducati in 2024. After several years of dominance, the last few seasons have been challenging, not only for the Japanese manufacturer but also for the rider himself, with the performances and results way below the expectations.

In the team change he will make next year, Casey Stoner believes that #93 may finally see the reason behind all the troubless. The former rider told Crash.net:

– Honda have been struggling for a couple of years. It’s easy to sit on the outside and say «the team haven’t been doing a good job». But it’s not actually the team. It goes way further above than that. We’re not sure how much effort they’re putting into the racing. I know there were a few position changes in Japan and it seems to be affecting the team. The two Japanese manufacturers seem to be a step or two behind. […]. It’s puzzling that the Japanese manufacturers are equally behind the Europeans. Marc is going to give himself a shot to understand whether it’s him or the bike.

O conteúdo ‘Marc Márquez is going to give himself a shot to understand whether it’s him or the bike’ – Casey Stoner aparece primeiro em Motorcycle Sports.

Marc Márquez was the face of Repsol Honda Team for several yesterday in MotoGP, giving the japanese manufacturer many world titles and being the one to lead the development of the RC213V. Alberto Puig assured that HRC policy was never to hold someone in against their will, at the same time he granted that there are ‘a lot of riders’ that want to ride with the team.

Honda’s Team Manager spoke to AS about the future ex-rider and said that there was never a wish to force the rider to stay, saying right away that the vacancy left open is something that many riders are interested in: ‘If a rider doesn’t want to race with our bikes or may be happier somewhere else, our philosophy is never to forcefully retain a rider just for the sake of it. We have a lot of riders who want to ride with us if they are happy and if everything is ok’.

Puig then said that the future of the development will continue and that Honda has big plans for the future, that now however won’t come in time to have the #93 as part of it: ‘We have some very interesting plans for the future. They are not in time in the case of Márquez’.

Honda is still looking for the future rider to take Márquez’s place and many names have been pointed, with Miguel Oliveira apparently as top contender, but with Maverick Viñales, Aleix Espargaró also on the table or even rider’s like Fabio Di Giannantonio or Jake Dixon, who were also said to be the a very specific shortlist.

Johann Zarco, who signed with LCR Honda is also said to be a possibility to move instead to the factory team, something Lucio Cecchinello certainly and publicly said he didn’t want.

O conteúdo Alberto Puig assures Honda doesn’t lack candidates for Márquez seat: ‘We have a lot of riders who want to ride with us’ aparece primeiro em Motorcycle Sports.

Johann Zarco was confirmed as a rider for LCR Honda in MotoGP in 2024 some time ago. With Marc Márquez’s departure from Repsol Honda, the factory team of the manufacturer, the current Prima Pramac rider was promptly speculated as an option for that position. However, he is not receptive to the idea.

Speaking to Sky Sport, the Frenchman admitted that he didn’t particularly like the proposal from Honda, preferring to play it safe and focus on LCR Honda:

– When my manager came to me and talked about two races, in Indonesia and Australia, either with Lucio [Cecchinello, LCR team director] or with Honda, we saw that Honda and also Alberto [Puig, Repsol Honda team director] offered me things I didn’t like. So, I prefer to fully commit to Lucio to change things and work in that direction. Having that factory team, but when we’re not 100 percent sure about things, the project scared me.

O conteúdo Honda’s factory team project ‘scared’ Johann Zarco aparece primeiro em Motorcycle Sports.

Joan Mir did not have a less than positive weekend in Australia, showing once again many difficulties in riding his Honda. In yesterday’s race he ended up seeing a crash spoil potential points win, thus ending the race early.

Today, in a debrief after the cancellation of the sprint, Joan Mir showed that he agrees with the decision not to hold the sprint, as the conditions worsened throughout the morning:

– Well, let’s say it was the expected Sunday, no? Honestly this morning we tried the track with the conditions in full condition, but it was already complicated, but we could drive. Then the conditions started to get worse and it was probably the right decision to cancel the sprint. We have to get ahead.

The 2020 world champion also said that in Thailand he hopes to be able to demonstrate the full potential of his Honda, with the help of the positive aspects he took from the Australian GP:

– The weekend we had wasn’t the best, but we managed to take something positive for the following races. I think in Thailand we can again show our potential and thank you all for your support.

O conteúdo ‘Conditions started to get worse and it was probably the right decision’ – Joan Mir aparece primeiro em Motorcycle Sports.

Miguel Oliveira has a contract with Aprilia to compete in MotoGP with CryptoDATA RNF MotoGP until the end of 2024. However, rumors have emerged about a possible move to Repsol Honda in the seat left vacant by Marc Márquez – and this is not distracting him from the task at hand.

In an interview with SportTV, the Portuguese rider assured that there are no updates regarding his future and that he is entirely concentrated on his current project. He refuses to comment on speculation until there is something concrete to discuss:

– There’s nothing. This weekend, I had a rather strange question about whether I was more distracted or less focused because of these rumors. What I can say is that I am 100 percent focused on my current project, which is Aprilia. I am focused with my RNF team on doing the best we can, even though we have a bike that’s a year behind the others. Our focus is to do the best we can with what we have and learn. So, all the things that are in the air, I can’t and never will comment on. Once something is on the table, we’ll have something to talk about. Until then, nothing.

O conteúdo ‘I’m 100% focused on my current project; I can’t comment on what’s in the air’ – Miguel Oliveira aparece primeiro em Motorcycle Sports.

Rumors continue to put Miguel Oliveira as a strong option for Repsol Honda in the next MotoGP season. Although he doesn’t rule out this possibility, the rider from CryptoDATA RNF MotoGP Team remains focused on his current project with the Malaysian team and Aprilia.

Speaking to SportTV, the Portuguese rider discussed his future as follows: ‘I keep focused on the same thing, which is what I have concretely in my career, which is Aprilia and RNF. I have an agreement with them until the end of 2024. It’s clear that when the world’s largest manufacturer approaches us for a possible factory seat, we never close that door – and that door logically remains open because they haven’t announced any riders yet. But until there are concrete things, I can’t say anything’.

When asked about whether contract duration and salary are factors separating him from an agreement with Honda, Oliveira declined to reveal details: ‘I won’t say anything; it would be quite unpleasant on my part to reveal that kind of information. My commitment is with Aprilia, with them, and that’s what I’m focused on dedicating myself to’.

O conteúdo ‘When the world’s largest manufacturer approaches us, we don’t close the door’ – Miguel Oliveira aparece primeiro em Motorcycle Sports.

After spending a significant portion of the race in the top ten, Marc Márquez saw his soft rear tyre dropping, and he finished the MotoGP Australian GP in 15th place. It was a wrong choice by the Repsol Honda rider, who had no problem admitting the mistake.

The six-time world champion admitted that taking risks didn’t pay off, especially given the pace set by Jorge Martín (Prima Pramac/Ducati) in the lead: ‘It was a gamble. Last year also was a gamble here and that gamble gave me a podium. But today wasn’t the day, especially because from the beginning, when I saw Martín with the soft and he was pushing so hard, then the race became super fast and when you are riding on that lap times you cannot manage the tyres. And especially because during the practices I didn’t had the speed to manage the tyres. When I saw that I was riding on 1m29s mid/low, in that moment I said: «What I do, wait or push?». I was on the bike, I was alone, and I decided to push and I said: «I will die so well»’.

Márquez tried to mitigate the effects of the tyre degradation for as long as he could, admitting that the choice of the soft rear was a mistake: ‘On lap ten the first drop came, but then from the lap then to the lap 20 more or less I was able to save the situation. But then in the last six laps I was riding two seconds slower because the rubber has completely gone and I was on the safety rubber, that is extra hard. But it’s normal, it was my decision, the tyre was working well. It was my choice and it wasn’t the correct one. But with the medium, calculating a bit, I would finish on ninth, tenth, eleventh. Not better’.

Martín also opted for the rear tire, but he managed to lead the race until the last lap. #93 explained the difference compared to himself: ‘For me Jorge today had the extra speed. For that reason he was able to lead with the soft, because he had that extra speed. Of course it was a mistake, but for him it was a mistake, but he will learn about this because today he was the fastest one also with the medium on the practice. So when I saw the choice it was a big surprise for me. But riders like me, Pol [Espargaró], we can have the gamble. Like last year here: I make the gamble and let’s see; last year worked, this year didn’t work. But Jorge today was much faster than the others: we saw on the qualifying, we saw on the first part of the race and we saw on the practice with the medium tyre – he was also super fast’.

O conteúdo ‘It was a gamble; last year it gave me a podium, but today wasn’t the day’ – Marc Márquez aparece primeiro em Motorcycle Sports.

Marc Márquez finished Saturday’s race in 15th position. The Spanish rider has been struggling since Friday. After two crashes in the first two practice sessions of the first day of the Australian GP, Marc was never able to go as fast as he wanted on his Honda RC213V and finished Saturday with just one point.

The Repsol Honda Team rider spoke about the race and his tire choices.

– ‘ Last year it was a gamble with the tires and this year too. That gamble got me a podium last year, but today wasn’t our day, especially because at the start when I saw Martín with the soft tire on the rear pushing so hard the race became very fast and when you’re riding at that pace it’s impossible to manage the tires. I was lapping in the low 1.29”s and I thought to myself whether or not to push harder, but if I pushed harder I’d be dead, I just didn’t know when. On lap 10 I still managed to save the race and I didn’t crash, it was my choice of tires and it’s totally my fault, but we were calculating and I should have finished 10th or 9th with the medium, not much better than that”.

Asked about Jorge Martín’s choice of the soft tire today and his compatriot’s chances of winning the MotoGP world championship, Marc replied: ‘ For me Jorge had that extra speed today. Of course it was a mistake for him to choose the soft, but on the track he was the fastest and he’ll only learn more from this. With the medium he was also the fastest, so when he chose the soft tire it was a surprise. Riders like me, Pol, we have to gamble, last year it worked this year it didn’t, but Jorge was the fastest today and he’s the fastest without a doubt. He’s still my choice to win the championship, there are still four races to go, plus the Sprint races, so he still has a chance. Jorge is driving very well’.

O conteúdo ‘If I pushed any harder I’d be dead, I just didn’t know when’ – Marc Márquez aparece primeiro em Motorcycle Sports.