What a season for Marc Marquez! After falling heavily in 2020, experiencing numerous operations and a series of poor performances for three years, riding the Honda, the six-time champion showed that he was finally back. At the start of this campaign, the native of Cervera left HRC for the Ducati family, on the Gresini side, with his brother Alex. Promising during the winter tests, the Spaniard quickly moved into the leaders' times. Author of several pole positions and two victories, in Aragon and Misano, the latter managed to crack the Ducati clan, where he will be assigned to the official team with Pecco Bagnaia in 2025. For this last race in Barcelona, the “ Fourmi de Cervera” climbed onto the second step of the podium, behind the outgoing world champion, Francesco Bagnaia.
A final farewell to Gresini
Coming down from his final podium of the year, Marc Marquez spoke to the media. In his statements, he wanted to thank his team for the work carried out throughout this 2024 season. The transition between Honda and Ducati was fruitful for the Spanish rider. With this good performance on the Catalunya track, he managed to take third place in the championship ahead of Enea Bastianini.
“This second place is the best end to this very beautiful chapter in my career with the Gresini team. I really enjoyed it and it’s the best way to say thank you. They became a super important team in my career because I arrived at a very low moment and this transfer that I made last year was very important. Thanks to Honda for understanding my situation, thanks to Gresini for giving me this opportunity. I kept working throughout this season. I discovered a very nice group, which helped me a lot to be reborn, to build this confidence again. The best way to thank them is by winning this podium.”
“Third place in the championship didn't change my life, but for a satellite team… I asked the question to [Michele] Masini: 'Is it important for a satellite team to finish third?', and he said to me 'Hmm maybe we would have a bonus…'. I said 'OK, I got it' and I tried to be super precise to finish that race on the podium. At one point in the race I thought maybe it was possible. But every time I've been close to Pecco, I've never found a clear place to pass him. I was coming too far to the braking points and I was catching him a lot in the left turns, 5 and 7, but unfortunately there were only two! He got through turn 10 really well. So I thought about it, but in the last laps, with the worn tires, he was smooth and I was having a little too much trouble. So it was time to use reason. I spent a lot of laps behind Pecco, trying to control the situation, but in the last five laps I couldn't keep up with him. Every time I got close to it, the front started to buckle a lot, because of the temperature. He was much faster than me.”
See also:
Join Auto-Moto on WhatsApp so you don't miss any car and 2-wheel news!
Featured Podcasts
MEN LIFE
In Brief
Yesterday afternoon, the 2024 MotoGP season concluded. Second at the end of the main race, Marc Marquez came to snatch a final podium before leaving his team, Gresini Ducati. He wanted to congratulate the work of his team before leaving for the official team.
