Alex Rins surprised: "I thought Marquez was playing with us!”
But speculation intensified over the following rounds, culminating in the eight-time world champion officially negotiating an exit from Honda after the recent Japanese Grand Prix.
Marquez was then confirmed as a Gresini Ducati rider on the eve of this weekend’s Indonesian event.
“I’m surprised because at the Misano GP, he did a lot of joking on social media. So for this reason, I thought maybe he’s staying and he’s playing a little bit with us,” said LCR rider Rins, who had already negotiated his own Honda departure for 2024.
“But after Motegi, and the podium, he announced that he’s going away from Honda with still one year of contract... Wow! I was quite impressed."
Marquez admitted that when he first ignited rumours over his future on social media at Misano, he actually expected to remain at Honda.
“The decision was not clear. It looks like the last two months, I played with all of you, but honestly speaking, the situation was changing every week,” Marquez said on Thursday.
“Even in Misano when I did that [‘Things are happening’] video, in that moment I was nearly 90% in Honda.
"But then the situation changed. And it was super difficult. But in the end, last Tuesday was when I took the decision [to leave Honda].”
Rins continued: “If he takes this decision it’s for [a reason]. So we need to respect this decision and for sure I hope that Marc is going to win again. He’s a very fast rider and if he makes this decision, I think it’s because he's not able to get this winning feeling again with the Honda.”
Rins acknowledged that had he known Marquez would be quitting Repsol Honda, it might have made his own decision to join Monster Yamaha more complicated.
“For sure I could have his seat in Honda next year [if I had stayed], but when I decided to move to another manufacturer, I didn’t have this opportunity,” said Rins, who used a clause in his HRC contract that allowed him to leave LCR if he received a factory offer.
“I had to take a decision by a [certain] date, and in that moment, on the table, I had the possibility to continue at LCR but I had also the possibility to move to a factory team [Yamaha].
“I don’t know what I would have done if I had two [factory] possibilities, but in that moment I had the Yamaha one so I took that.”
Pramac Ducati's Johann Zarco was then signed by Honda to take over Rins' LCR place next season. The Frenchman is now among the names being linked with taking over Marquez's vacant Repsol seat.
