2023-10-23 19:04:36
Marc Márquez only has four more Grand Prix suffering left on his Honda. The one from Cervera is already counting the days until November 28 arrivesdate on which he will have the opportunity to test his new Ducati GP23 for the first time on the occasion of the official MotoGP test that will be hosted by the Cheste Circuit 48 hours after the last race of the 2023 season.
The 30-year-old driver will renounce the 15 million euros which he would have pocketed in 2024 if he had completed his contract with Honda, money that Márquez sacrifices in order to get on the best bike of the moment, the Ducati Desmosedici, the same machine that already won the MotoGP title last season with Pecco Bagnaia at his command and that this year he will once again conquer the winding, either in the hands of Pecco or Jorge Martín from Madrid.
For Paolo Ciabatti, Sports Director of Ducati Corse, having a rider of Marc Márquez’s caliber in his environment is a real source of pride. The Italian coach has offered an extensive interview to the portal Moto.it where he analyzes the arrival of the Cervera driver to the Gresini Racing boxa move that, in Ciabatti’s opinion, says a lot about how well things are doing in his factory, especially when Márquez will come without charging a dime.
“That a pilot like Márquez decided to ride for free for a satellite team in order to get on a Ducati It’s a source of pride.”says Ciabatti. “As far as I know, it’s like that (free). But you would have to ask the Gresini team or Marc himself if he wants to say it,” points out about it.
The sporting boss of the Borgo Panigale firm insists that, without knowing all the details of the contract between Marc and Gresini, he understands that “Practically it will run for free, surely Team Gresini He cannot afford to pay a driver the amount of money Marc Márquez was used toso whatever the situation, we are talking about something completely different where the economic factor was not what drove this decision, and from this point of view we should be proud that he considers that Ducati is the best bike to be competitive again and have fun”.
The #93 has signed a one-year contract with Gresini, a circumstance that invites us to think about another possible team change by Márquez with a view to 2025. Some point out that Ducati itself could be interested in promoting Marc to the team factory if things go well for him at Gresini, a move that Ciabatti neither confirms nor denies at this point: “Yes or no… that’s something I can’t tell you. It can also be your antechamber to continue in the market and go to KTM or Aprilia“.
Ciabatti remembers that “In 2025 almost all official drivers’ contracts will expire, except for Brad Binder’s“, and that will open “a range of possibilities in which Ducati is a possibility, but there are no commitments of any kind. The market will be open and we will see what will happen in 2025. But it is not something that has happened with a specific objective for 2025. It’s hard to believe, but it’s something that Marc Márquez and Gresini decided, not Ducati.”, the sports director of the Italian factory insists again.
Finally, leaving aside the Márquez issue, Ciabatti also sheds some light on the reasons that have led his factory to not putting a fifth factory bike on next year’s grid. The main candidate to carry that additional GP24 would be Marco Bezzecchi, but that possibility is completely nullified by the agreement that currently links Ducati and PRAMAC, which is guaranteed two official motorcycles in its box.
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“Of course we think that Marco, after the performances he has done this year, deserved an official bike”see Ciabatti. “We were close to offering it to himbut for contractual reasons the official motorcycles for 2024 are for the PRAMAC team. And for us it is not possible to make a fifth bike, because we already did it last year (with Luca Marini) and we realized that it is a logistical and technical complication that brings with it excessive costs. Therefore, we were unable to offer a 2024 bike to the VR46 team. The only option to give Marco a 2024 motorcycle was to put him in the PRAMAC team“, a move that Bezzecchi rejected in order to continue racing the Mooney VR46 next year, a decision that Ciabatti “understands” perfectly due to the good climate that exists in that box.
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