The MotoGP riders agree: Marc Márquez is back and next year he will be a strong candidate for the title with the Ducati of Team Gresini
“Marc was very fast in Cheste. And I don’t think he showed all the cards,” warns Joan Mir, who inherits the trusted technical team of 93, captained by Santi Hernández
Many were already expecting it, but for the skeptics Marc Márquez was in charge of clearing up all doubts in his first test with the Team Gresini Ducati at the Cheste circuit, this Tuesday. “Impressive,” agreed Davide Tardozzi from the official team box. The new team leader of the eight-time champion, Frankie Carchedi He was not left behind either, taking into account that in Gresini no one, not even Marc himself, will be able to make evaluations until January 1 for contractual reasons: “Tonight I will have a beer with a huge smile,” he tweeted.
In the MotoGP paddock the general feeling was unanimous: Márquez is back and everyone sees him fighting for the title next season. The first to recognize it was Alberto Puig, until Sunday his boss at Repsol Honda. “I saw that he got off the bike and he was happy, you don’t have to be very smart to know that it was going to be like that. Of course I’m happy for him, I believe one hundred percent that he will be fighting for the World Cup,” he predicted.
“I already said a few races ago that with the journalists that I would be the fastest in the first tests, I missed by two/three positions, but I can be very happy with the bike. “We have done a magnificent job this season with this bike and you can enjoy it,” the two-time world champion Pecco Bagnaia, who tries to hide his concern about having to fight Márquez next year with the same weapons. Or not, because he will have the new Desmosedici GP24 and Marc will pilot the current version.
“I think it’s what we all expected. It hasn’t been a big surprise. We knew it would be super competitive“, analyzed the Pramac runner-up Jorge Martin. “I’ve seen him well, but he hasn’t impressed anyone because it was already known how fast he could be. He really surprised me with the first run he did. I was looking forward to seeing his details and the similar style we have. My team has seen them and they told me that we look like the same driver. We use the brake very similar and because of how we make the lines. I have already learned a few things and I hope to continue learning from him. It is a challenge, a motivation. “It will be very important to be able to face one of the best in history.”
Alex Marquez, who a year ago showed Marc the way by changing from Honda to Ducati experiencing a notable improvement, warned that I cannot say much because he cannot say excessive things by contract. It was fast, something I already knew because it was something that already happened to me and that I expected to happen to him. He has had the day he expected… I’m not saying that he will be a candidate for the title because he kicks me out of the house“he joked.
Pedro AcostaMotoGP rookie and the youngest on the grid at 19 years old after winning the MotoGP crown this season, is also clear: “We know who Marc Márquez is, what Marc has done in the last 10-12 years. You can’t hide that, you can’t hide the person inside you. “I was happy to see him back up there.”
AND Maverick Viñaleswho closed the tests in Valencia as the fastest, made a curious reading: “Marc has the best bike and is one of the best riders, if not the best. So, it doesn’t surprise me at all. What I like is that he goes to make others nervous,” he noted.
Joan Mir , world champion with Suzuki in 2020 and Márquez’s teammate at Repsol Honda this last season, inherits Marc’s technical team, with Santi Hernández at the helm, and takes on the challenge of leading the Japanese manufacturer’s comeback after three years the drift. The Spaniard also believes that Márquez will be one step ahead of the rest in 2024: “he has taken a bike that was already completely evolved and no one doubts the talent and speed that Marc has to be fast. I don’t think I have shown all the cards“he warns.
“We have seen that Marc is feeling very well and that he is going to give a lot of effort next year,” agreed the 2021 champion, F.abio Quartararo: “I was laughing when I did the fastest lap. “Already on the first outing with the new bike it seemed as if I had ridden it this year.”
Alex Rins, who will be the Frenchman’s new teammate after leaving the Honda ‘ship’ after a single campaign in the LCR, was of the same opinion as the rest of the grid: “Honestly, it didn’t surprise me. I knew Marc was going to go fast and he went like a shot. It seemed that he had already done a private test without anyone knowing, because he went out on the track and immediately went fast. I’m happy for him, because after so many years of suffering, in the end I think you go into a loop and it’s hard to get out of it. I’m glad it’s going well for you”
“Next year the best bike and the best rider will come together, so I have no doubt who is the favorite in the World Championship,” said Jorge Lorenzo.