Marc Marquez ‘is leaving his love, he gave a lot to Honda’

Marquez is in his last race weekend as a Repsol Honda rider, ahead of switching to Gresini Ducati in the hope of becoming a MotoGP title contender in 2024. 

The eight-time world champion had been very quick over the course of Friday and Saturday at Valencia, and looks poised for a good result on his farewell weekend with the Japanese manufacturer. 

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Speaking about Marquez’s decision to leave Honda to join a ‘private’ team, Agostini told MotoGP.com: “I think that Marc Marquez took a very difficult decision. To leave Honda, which is the biggest motorcycle company in racing and in the world, and to go to a private team; but I think he wants to win and the Ducati bike is a very good bike. 

“I think for him it is difficult now but with a bit of time to learn the bike I think he will come back like before.”

Despite being the highest paid rider at Honda, Marquez was willing to drop his salary quite considerably in order to look for the best chance at winning races. 

Asked what we can expect from Marquez and if he will be competitive with Ducati, Aogistini added: “I think so because I know him and he likes winning. Otherwise he would say ‘I don’t want to race’. 

“He wants to win or to try and win. This season he has had a good season with the bike he’s had, but with Ducati he has the possibility to win. I’m not sure about the championship but to win races.”

While Honda remains the most successful manufacturer in MotoGP, something that is not under threat for the time being, Agostini says having them back at the forefront of MotoGP is crucial to the show. 

“It’s incredible! Everyone is surprised by Honda because they are the biggest company in the world,” said Agostini. “It’s not only Marc but all the riders with Honda struggled to get good results. 

“I don’t know about Honda next year but we need them to come back because we don’t want one factory, we need a lot of factories. 

“I think he is leaving his love. He won a lot with Honda. Honda gave to him a lot of things and he gave Honda a lot.”