My Honda MotoGP exit “a win-win decision”

Honda announced following his sole grand prix podium of the season at the Japanese Grand Prix that it had mutually agreed to part ways with Marquez at the end of the 2023 campaign, despite there still being one year left on his contract.

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He will race for Gresini on a year-old Ducati next year, having made his debut on the bike in the Valencia test last month, in which he finished fourth fastest.

Having spent 11 years with Honda and won six world titles together, Marquez said his decision to leave was made smoother to engineer because it is “a win-win” for both parties.

“I mean, for me, it’s easy to explain,” he began when asked by Autosport if he was surprised at how smoothly his Honda exit has gone.

“Our relationship with Honda has always been very honest, super clean and very good.

“And we had 11, I believe in my opinion, very successful years, with a win-win relationship.

“And I think that in this decision right now for next year, it’s also a win-win decision. Why? Because I will move to a bike that is leading the championship and I will try to achieve my target, which is to try to feel competitive again.

“Feeling competitive doesn’t mean winning, it just means to feel competitive and ride more comfortably and try to fight for the top positions in some races.

“The reality is that all the budget they pay to me will go to the bike. That is also important.

“My comfort zone was here, to stay here and ride the bike and take the salary and no pressure.

“But I believe now [what] is the best for the project is that they will invest all of [what they paid me] into the bike.

“Honda is Honda. Honda will come back to the top with or without me. So, I believe they can do it.”

Marquez’s exit is thought to have come with the benefit to Honda of having €15 million to spend on bike development.

The latest test of the 2024 Honda prototype in Valencia proved to be a successful one, with Joan Mir noting it was the first time HRC had brought him anything that worked.

A report in El Periodico last month revealed that Honda had been able to shave eight kilogrammes off the weight of its RC213V, which has helped – among other updates – to improve the overall handling of the bike.