The Spaniard left Honda for the Italian Team Gresini bike: the reasons for the decision
Two days ago, in Valencia, Marc Marquez got on a Ducati for the first time and suddenly the spotlight returned to the Spaniard. The lap times, the ease with which he obtained them, the smiles he gave in the garage of the Gresini team – his new home – have unleashed everyone’s imagination about his destinies and that of the MotoGP World Championship in 2024. A future that is possible analyze leaving aside the eight-time world champion and framing the story through the lens of Borgo Panigale.
at the root of the choice
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Inserting such a weighty name into a balanced and collaborative structure regarding pilots could break the bank. And in fact the CEO Claudio Domenicali did not hide the doubt experienced by the leaders of the red team: many Marquez did not want him. So the question to ask yourself – thinking about a company that has won two World Championships in a row, dominating the last one in an impressive manner – is only one: why complicate your life? There is no single answer. The question can be approached from various angles, as if it were a reproduction – admittedly in a small and slightly playful way – of Akira Kurosawa’s film Rashomon: the same story told from different points of view. Here too there are four actors: Ducati, the other red riders, those who organize the World Championship and the team founded by Fausto Gresini. Which is no longer there, unfortunately, but who knows how much fun he would have had…
teams and drivers
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His team, let’s start from here, has everything to gain: it has never seen so many cameras and photographers in front of the garage, new sponsors are arriving and – a question that surpasses them all – it can count on what on paper remains a phenomenon. Carmelo Ezpeleta’s Dorna is just a tad lower in terms of advantages: seeing Marc languish at the back didn’t help in terms of interest, TV audience and social media. Numbers that bring money: a Marquez who fights to win brings in cash, so he has to get on the best bike. However, the riders of the other Ducatis, except Alex Marquez, have a lot to lose (but doubts also arise as to whether his brotherly love would ever be obscured…): the comparison can reduce them. But it is a vision – which is the most popular at the moment – pessimistic and defensive. Nothing prevents someone from being able to stay in front of Marc, obtaining certain glory from him. But the most important point of view remains that of the company that currently dominates MotoGP.
risks and benefits
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With the Spaniard in his group the harmony could break down, Bagnaia’s leadership could be called into question and a private team could win the title with the previous season’s bike. Not to mention Marquez’s low approval rating among Italian fans (not all of them, by the way). So where is the convenience? It is there, however subtle. The calculation of Gigi Dall’Igna, the genius who created this technical dominance and did not oppose Marc’s arrival, is that of the true racing man always hungry for success: Marquez serves to measure the value of the other riders, to develop the red team by taking different paths than usual and above all, if necessary, to raise the bar for everyone if the internal challenge spreads to the rivals. From Ktm to Aprilia, even to that Honda that was left for dead but with the means to get back to the surface. To win harmony can go to hell. Ask Ron Dennis for confirmation, when he put Senna and Prost together in his McLaren…
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