Aprilia theory as Marc Marquez admits he will "listen" to rival offers
In a recent interview with TNT Sports, Marc Marquez said that “all the doors are open” regarding which team he might race for in the 2025 MotoGP season.
“I am open to listen to everything," he said.
The eight-time world champion sensationally left Repsol Honda at the end of last season and joined Gresini Ducati on a one-year deal.
Marquez has been ahead of the other GP23 riders from his first laps on the Desmosedici and, last time at COTA, was also challenging the best of the factory GP24s, briefly leading the race.
But if all doors are open, where might he end up next season?
Asked to respond to Marquez’s comments on the podcast, Crash.net MotoGP editor Peter McLaren said:
“It’s a big difference to last year when he left Honda early and there weren’t many options available. Quartararo, Bagnaia and a handful of riders have signed for next year but most seats are still free.
“Marc is only on a one-year deal [at Gresini]. So he’s available. And he’s right, he can go to just about any manufacturer he wants in theory. All of the factories have at least one seat still free at the moment.
“We know Marc wants to be competitive and wants to fight for race wins. But how important is fighting for the world championship to him? Because if it’s his priority, he’ll need a factory team, realistically.
“On the other hand, he could stay at Gresini and fight for race wins - we’ve seen enough already to know he can do that. So if that’s all he wants and he values the family atmosphere and racing alongside his brother, then why not stay at Gresini?
“It’s a big decision for him to make. It’ll depend on his future ambitions.”
A compromise between his current satellite status (on a year-old bike) and a seat at a full factory team would be to get an upgrade to the latest Desmosedici machinery at Gresini next year.
“To win the championship, ideally he needs to be in a factory team or at least on the latest spec factory bike,” Crash.net’s two-wheeled reporter Robert Jones said. “The good thing for Marquez is that we know Fermin Aldeguer is coming into Ducati, but as a rookie he probably wouldn’t need the latest spec bike.
“So if Aldeguer goes to Pramac for example, Ducati might be able to offer that factory spec bike to Marquez at Gresini. Marquez does almost have the pick of any manufacturer, with so many seats available, but I think it’d be disappointing to see him leave Ducati after just one season.”
Podcast host and social media manager Jordan Moreland said: “People say KTM, but I don’t see Marquez fitting there anymore unless he went with GASGAS at Tech3.
“So it seems to me, the only other factory option Marquez has outside of Ducati would be Aprilia. He does have some history with Aprilia, he won on a Derbi - a rebadged Aprilia – in 125GP.
“Do you think Aprilia would say ‘yes, we’ll go for Marquez’ or would they want someone younger?”
McLaren replied: “Would anyone turn down Marquez if he came knocking? It’d be a big call to make as a factory wouldn’t it! I think Marc would be competitive on any of the European bikes.
“As Rob said, he’s building up experience on the Ducati, which we know is a great bike but is a particular bike as well. There’s a certain way you have to ride it. And he’s learning that. So it’d be a shame to throw that work away and start again on another bike.
“On the other hand, if the offer is for a place at a full factory team and you don’t have that chance at Ducati…
“Vinales and Aprilia have won half of the six races so far this year. They are making a case for the RS-GP being the best bike. And the best bike will always attract the best riders.
“We saw Aleix also fast in pre-season testing and Qatar - so it doesn’t look like a one-rider bike - but if Aprilia keeps winning it’s got to be on Marc’s radar. Especially if Ducati are not able to offer that factory chance.
“I think we can confidently say that whoever Ducati puts alongside Bagnaia is going to come from within Ducati.
"The advantage for Ducati in making their rider decision is that they can see all the data. They will know exactly how good Marc Marquez is, with all the arm injuries and everything behind him, on this year-old bike, after just three rounds.
“Gigi will also know how badly he needs to keep him for next year, especially with the other European bikes threatening Ducati’s dominant position. KTM has also got Acosta, the new Marquez some people say, who looks like someone Ducati will have to beat.
“In short, Gigi will need the best riders on his bike to counter that KTM and Aprilia threat and he will know exactly who they are. The trouble is there’s Marc Marquez, there’s Jorge Martin, there’s Enea Bastianini – but only one seat alongside Bagnaia.
“And whoever is left disappointed will surely become a target for other factories.”
Asked by Moreland if there is any possibility of Marquez returning to Honda, even if he won this year’s title, Jones replied:
“Marquez obviously has a special relationship with Honda, having achieved so much. But at the same time, his recent comments seemed to suggest if he had spent one more year at Honda, he might have retired. That’s pretty negative.
“Even if he won the title this year, I think the competitive animal that Marc Marquez is means he would then want a place at the factory Ducati team and to try and dominate again.
“So that [Honda] door is closed for now I think, unless there’s a major turnaround at Honda, or for some reason, it doesn’t work out for Marquez at Ducati in future.”
