Marc Marquez, the Samurai of MotoGP like Fernando Alonso in F1

You have to be brave in life, in both your personal and professional choices. And if we apply this principle to MotoGP, we can say that Marc Marquez has definitely shown courage. And a great deal of it.

Marc Marquez to Gresini

The most titled man on the grid, as well as the rider who grabs the most headlines, Marc has decided to leave Honda, the world’s most powerful motorcycle manufacturer, to move to Team Gresini, an independent Ducati structure that will welcome the champ with open arms in 2024. A seemingly ‘predictable’ move, in that it allows #93 to jump from the less than competitive RC213V to the very fast Desmosedici, a Gigi Dall’Igna creation that is proving capable of winning races in both its most recent and more dated versions, but that also conceals uncertainties, of which Marc is well aware.

The eight-time world champion prepares to leave Honda’s millions to move to a team that is independent, yes, but not factory, bringing with him enthusiasm, a desire to succeed, but also some question marks. The man who many consider to be the most talented on the grid will essentially be required to win right off the bat, in that he’ll have the quickest bike of them all. If he fails to do so, he’ll come in for even more media scrutiny than he did on announcing his split with Honda.

Marquez like Alonso, albeit with some differences

“I used a theory that the mountaineer quoted in the book you gave me to read. If I can climb Everest in 3 days, why climb it in 5? Logically it’s riskier to climb it in 3 days, you are more exposed and perhaps it’s not possible, but if I don’t try, I’ll never know”, said Marquez shortly after bidding farewell to Honda, a concept he referenced again on Thursday at Mandalika, as the circuit prepares to stage the Indonesian GP: “At Honda I had it all under control, I knew the direction of the development and had a good salary. But I’m prioritising my sporting career and the pursuit of fun”.

And so it is that Marquez has decided to scale his own Everest towards a ninth career title, which would see him tie with eternal rival Valentino Rossi. But to do so he’ll have to defeat the VR46 pupils on the same machinery. A battle within the battle. #93 is leaving his comfort zone, preferring to travel the “Path of the Warrior”, just as a real Samurai would do. A term that, coincidentally, is used as a nickname for another Spaniard, a certain Fernando Alonso, who had the courage to leave first McLaren and then Ferrari, to move into the unknown.

Despite the obvious differences (Team Gresini clearly offers more technical guarantees than the 2015 Mclaren-Honda), perhaps Marc was inspired by his fellow countryman – who knows all about risky decisions – as he put pen to paper with the Italian team.

Only time will tell whether Marquez, the Samurai of MotoGP, will have more luck than Nando in F1.