Team Gresini: focused on the big fish

Something significant is afoot in MotoGP at Misano, and it has to do with perhaps the biggest fish of them all. Marc Marquez is prepared to do anything to relaunch his career, even leave a factory team in favour of an independent squad. The eight-time world champion has deep pockets thanks to Honda, but would need to pay out if he were to leave the manufacturer.

Marquez and Honda: decisive post-race MotoGP test

The action won’t come to an end at Misano on Sunday afternoon. No, because MotoGP will be back on track on Monday for an important test in view of the 2024 season. Marc has said that, before communicating his decision, he wants to assess the potential of the RC213 V. Technicians from Japan will be on site for the test. Imagine.

Essentially, if he likes it enough, he’ll stick with Honda. If on the other hand he’s not impressed, he will go. HRC will be under pressure in that Marquez will decide 'yes' or 'no' based on Monday’s outcome. And he wouldn’t be the only one to have done so, as you’ll see.

Gresini: this Ducati is for the favourite

At a certain point of what is still a long championship, the Gresini Desmosedici was being targeted by a plethora of riders, from Franco Morbidelli, who will now go to Pramac, to Joan Mir, who will stay with Repsol. Also Tony Arbolino, who will stick with Marc VDS in Moto2, and Jake Dixon, now out of the running.

So what has been going on? Why turn down or hold off on responding to so many different riders? It’s simple, or should we say complicated, in that it’s all down to Marc Marquez. The parties are close to making an agreement, if they haven’t already done so behind the scenes. Despite the Spaniard having a contract with Honda for 2024, he is ready to do this.

Paying the penalty to make it happen.

Gresini Racing, a temporary stop en-route to a more spacious port

In fact, Marc has stated that he’s already decided what he wants to do next year. He has the paddock on tenterhooks, and rightly so, aware that he is still the star of MotoGP, the best paid, the most watched and, at the same time, the most criticised.

The phrase, "Estan pasando cosas", meaning ‘things are happening’ is often used in the football field, particularly by Barcelona FC when a transfer is afoot. Everyone knows that Marc’s a big fan of the team and everyone’s heard the paddock rumour – that the 30-year old is headed for Gresini, for just one season before making another change.

The ultimate goal being KTM. Marquez and the Austrians have spoken on several occasions, but KTM has its own complicated situation to resolve. So it’s perhaps best to wait for the current contracts to expire at the end of 2024 before storming the orange team.

For a factory ride of course, the end goal for the championship's most successful rider.

Ducati know-how to KTM?

In competing for one year with the Desmosedici – and perhaps scoring some good results in the process – Marquez would experience the sensations, technical annotations, technology, opportunities and potential expressed by Ducati, today’s benchmark in MotoGP. And then he would take all this to KTM, in an already mapped-out hypothetical move. The Mattighofen manufacturer has previously hired Jack Miller, Francesco Guidotto, and Fabiano Sterlacchini, all former Borgo Panigale employees. One more form of of attack against the ‘reds’.