Having come to an agreement with team Gresini, Marquez has left a hole in the Honda garage that will be hard to fill. Marc has “taken” the place of Italian rider Fabio Di Giannantonio, who is left without a seat despite having demonstrated in recent races that he deserves to stay in MotoGP.

In Japan, Fabio crossed the line eighth in both the Sprint and Sunday’s race before doing even better at Mandalika, placing sixth in the Sprint and as high as fourth in the main race after climbing up from sixteenth.

The vacancy at Honda: possible substitutes for Marquez

There’s been talk of Honda opting for a rider of the caliber of Oliveira, Vinales or Zarco in the “post-Marquez” period. The Frenchman in particular, having just signed with Lucio Cecchinello’s LCR Honda team, was hopeful he could step up to the factory team on Marquez’s departure but it is not to be.

As for the Aprilia riders, the Noale manufacturer has denied any market rumours and stated that it has found balance with its current riders, which is why it intends to keep hold of them.

But with these initial names ruled out, there is one rider who is growing exponentially…

Fabio Di Giannantonio in a possible switch with Marquez

A rider swap that would see Marquez move from Honda HRC to team Gresini and Di Giannantonio go from Gresini to the factory team is not that surreal. Particularly considering the Italian’s recent performances. Might he be the youngster the Japanese manufacturer has been seeking?

"My aim is to stay in MotoGP”, he confirms, “there’s a space available at Honda and it’s very attractive, with an historic team, an icon of MotoGP. It would be a good opportunity for me. Such a huge manufacturer. I don’t think the negative trend they’re experiencing will last long. They’ll be back at the top. And so why not jump on that bike?”