The deal is pretty much closed at this point but the official confirmation is yet to be given: Luca Marini will be Repsol Honda rider for the next (two) season. The reason why the agreement wasn’t yet made official, believes Michael Laverty, is because both parties are yet working on the ‘get-out clauses’.

Former rider, the british has two full years at MotoGP (2013 and 2014) and is still very aware of the reality among the class and spoke of the deal between Marini and Honda, quoted on TNT Sports, saying why he believes it wasn’t made public: ‘It takes some time. They’ll want the various clauses, the get-out clauses. They’ll want two years fixed then the extra year to bring them parallel with the rest of the riders’.

There is a lot to work on, contract wise, he adds: ‘There will be a lot of i’s to dot and t’s to cross. You can understand why it takes time, it’s a big move. But he [Marini] was squirming a little bit there, when asked the question!’.

And added: ‘He’s such a nice guy, he wants to answer, but he can’t give us any quotes’.

O conteúdo Michael Laverty believes Luca Marini’s move to Honda wasn’t yet confirmed because ‘various clauses’ aparece primeiro em Motorcycle Sports.

A lot of news about Toprak Razgatlioglu’s future have been brought up in the past few years and more earlier this season but the WSBK star decided to make a surprising change at the championship, after moving from Yamaha to BMW. However, the turkish is focused on the challenges that are coming in the next two seasons but doesn’t say no to talks after that.

Razgatlioglu has shown interest or at least curiosity about MotoGP but only at the service of a factory team and, given the lattest events towards 2024 with Honda still looking for a rider to officially replace Marc Marquez, and the fact they have publicly said that they have contacted some riders. And apparently their network of contacts might have gone further than the world championship of the category.

The turkish spoke to Dorna and revelead that a MotoGP approached him, but didn’t revelead which. Considering the current state of the paddock, it could have (easily)… been Honda:

– I have been approached by a MotoGP team, but I am now tied to the BMW Superbike factory team for two years until the end of 2025. After that, we can talk about MotoGP contracts.

The manufacturer spoke to some riders, like Miguel Oliveira or Fabio Di Giannantonio, but apparently the one who will take the #93’s place is Luca Marini. Official confirmation is yet to be known.

O conteúdo Did Honda contacted Toprak Razgatlioglu? Turkish reveals ‘approach’ from MotoGP team but only admitts more talks after 2025 aparece primeiro em Motorcycle Sports.

Marc Márquez finished Sunday’s race in 11th position. The Spanish rider and eight-time world champion continues to have difficulties riding his RC213V.

In a debrief, the Spanish rider spoke about his feelings during the race.

– ‘ I didn’t have the best performance today. I was behind Jorge the whole race, maybe I could have done more, but the feeling wasn’t the best. There was a point in the race when I was struggling a lot, but despite everything it was a weekend that went well, no mistakes, solid and that’s it. Today’s race was similar to the Sprint, yesterday I had Bagnaia in front of me and I knew I was faster, but I knew I wouldn’t have more pace than him until the end of the race, just like Martín today. Why spoil their race when they’re at such an important stage and I know perfectly well that they’re faster than us?

Asked about the next and final weekend racing for the Repsol Honda Team and the difficulties Jorge Martín had today, Marc replied: ‘It’s going to be a busy weekend, no doubt. I’ve looked at my schedule and it’s going to be complicated, but I want to concentrate on the race and finish in the best possible way with Honda. When I was behind Jorge I could see that he was struggling, he was slower into and out of corners which is a strange thing on the Ducati, but it looked like he was struggling with the grip on the rear tire.

O conteúdo ‘Why spoil their race when they’re at such an important stage’ – Marc Márquez aparece primeiro em Motorcycle Sports.

With Repsol Honda far from the competitiveness it held in the past, Marc Márquez needs to seek other strategies to compete at the top. Following in the slipstream of a faster rival has been a common choice this year, which the six-time premier class champion has now justified.

The Spaniard told the journalists: ‘Alone I was one second slower. This bike is another bike with the slipstream. And is like this and I undestand that people says: «Why is he following all the time?». In the past many riders followed me; if you are just focused on yourself they don’t disturb me, so I always try to follow the fastest rider, I try to not disturb him, I try to be only behind and like this in the past they didn’t disturb me’.

Highlighting that this isn’t a strategy used solely by him, Márquez emphasized that Honda needs to improve this characteristic of the bike: ‘For example, a rider like Joan Mir, who last year was with Suzuki, he was never looking for a slipstream and this year he is looking for a slipstream in every practice. So it’s a point that Honda must improve for the future, because you can save one weekend like this, but for example in Malaysia, where I didn’t find the good way, I started from 20th’.

O conteúdo ‘The bike is another with a slipstram; Honda must improve for the future’ – Marc Márquez aparece primeiro em Motorcycle Sports.

The move of Luca Marini to Repsol Honda in MotoGP now seems to be just a matter of an official announcement. The Mooney VR46 Racing Team considers the rider as lost as it is already looking for a replacement at the Moto2 grid.

Uccio Salucci, one of the leaders at VR46, stated to MotoGP.com that a decision will soon be made: ‘We want to recruit a young rider from Moto2. There are some potential candidates. A decision will be made in the next three to four days’.

Thus, Fabio Di Giannantonio is excluded from the list of options, and regardless of the chosen one, Salucci is aware that payment will be necessary: ‘If you lose a rider of Marini’s caliber in November, then you have to buy back riders from the Moto2 teams. We’ve talked to everyone and not just one team, not just [Fermín] Aldeguer. Definitely, we have to pay something, but that’s how it works in our sport’.

Valentino Rossi’s friend also addressed the possibility of Tony Arbolino being the chosen one: ‘I like Tony. He’s a very good rider. He’s very young and Italian. He is one of the candidates. But we’re not just talking about Tony and Fermín. There are other fast riders that I really like. This will become clear in the next few days. We won’t have to wait long’.

O conteúdo VR46 «confirms» Luca Marini at Honda: ‘We want to recruit a young rider from Moto2’ aparece primeiro em Motorcycle Sports.

Francesco Bagnaia is facing the MotoGP Qatar GP this weekend. Leading the championship with a 14-point gap over Jorge Martín (Prima Pramac/Ducati), he has the first opportunity to secure the title.

The Ducati rider stated before the Losail round: ‘I’m happy to be back racing in Qatar this weekend. It’s another track where we have always been competitive. In the Malaysian GP, we finally managed to be fast right from Friday, and we were back on pole, something that hadn’t happened since Barcelona. Here too it will be important to be able to do the same’.

Despite the possibility of leaving Qatar as the champion, Bagnaia has slightly more modest goals: ‘14 points of advantage in the standings are not many, so the goal will be to try to increase the gap on Jorge in the Championship’.

O conteúdo Francesco Bagnaia has his first «match point» in Qatar: ‘The goal will be to increase the gap’ aparece primeiro em Motorcycle Sports.

There is a possibility of granting development concessions to Honda in MotoGP, similar to what has been considered for Yamaha, as they aim to regain ground lost to European constructors.

Joan Mir, who represents Honda, argues that the manufacturer should have access to these benefits. He stated to Motorsport.com that it would be selfish on the part of the European brands:

– When KTM and Aprilia needed concessions, and Honda didn’t need them, they were given. I think it would be selfish if now that we need them, and Yamaha also, although they are in a different situation, they didn’t give them.

O conteúdo ‘It would be selfish if they didn’t give us concessions’ – Joan Mir aparece primeiro em Motorcycle Sports.

It was expected, and Honda, which let Marc Marquez prematurely terminate a contract running until the end of December 2024, shouldn’t be surprised by this news, which is perhaps only the first of its kind. The Red Bull logo will no longer appear on the fairings of the Repsol RC213Vs, despite a binding agreement which also ran until the end of the eight-time World Champion’s theoretical contract. The Austrian beverage that would give the Spaniard wings to fly away from the Honda factory team to Gresini Ducati. Another brand, Estrella Galicia, is reportedly ready to follow in the same footsteps.

The more time passes, the more we wonder how Honda is managing its MotoGP project. Technically, we’ve known for far too long that the men from HRC are outmatched by the new situation created by Ducati. But politically, the latest events are reminiscent of an inventory before closing. First of all, it has been decided to let star rider Marc Marquez go before his contract expires at the end of 2024, without penalty, but also without restrictions: on November 28, he will be able to start work on the Gresini Ducati at the first test of the MotoGP off-season in Valencia.

But there’s more to come. The sponsors are now leaving the fairing of the RC213V Repsol. According to Speedweek, Red Bull will be joining Marc Marquez at Gresini Ducati. It’s clear that he won’t be riding for free, and this strong message is already giving us an idea of where he might be heading in 2025… For Honda, this partnership, which has lasted since 2006, is not neutral, since the contract signed with the Austrian brand until the end of 2024 prohibits it from entering into any agreement with another company of the same name. Surprisingly, even if it were to withdraw prematurely from its investment …

While we’re on the subject of sport drinks, Honda may not have drunk the chalice to the dregs yet, as Estrella Galicia, the Spanish brewery with no energy-enhancing virtues, is the next brand to pull out. This year, it had not put its eggs in the same basket, following Alex Marquez to Gresini Ducati and Marc to Repsol Honda. With the two brothers now reunited, there would be no reason to split the budget between two teams.

And what about Repsol? The energy supplier is not likely to revise its plans, especially at this crucial time when it will be necessary to communicate about the sustainable fuel that will start to be found in MotoGP tanks next year. The current agreement runs until the end of 2024. Honda will therefore have lost not only its eight-time World Champion, but also its investors. That said, the saving of an estimated annual salary of 15 million euros should break even.

O conteúdo Red Bull leaves Honda and follows Marc Marquez to Gresini Ducati aparece primeiro em Motorcycle Sports.

Toni Bou secured the win in the final race of the X-Trial World Championship, held this weekend in France. The Spanish rider once again demonstrated his dominance, this time in Vendée, a round he started being already champion.

After the first two rounds, the Repsol Honda/Montesa rider accumulated only three penalty points on the course, beating Jaime Busto (GasGas) by ten points. Gabriel Marcelli (Repsol Honda/Montesa) finished third with 17 points, also advancing to the final.

Afterwards, in the decisive phase, riders faced six additional sections. Bou and Marcelli ended up tied with 13 penalty points, compared to Busto’s 25. In the run-off, Bou emerged victorious tallying just one mark, securing the overall win. Marcelli claimed second place, ensuring a Repsol Honda one-two, and Busto completed the podium.

In the final championship standings, Bou became the champion with 127 points, while Busto finished second with 87 points. Marcelli entered the last round with a chance to surpass his GasGas rival, but he fell six points short of achieving that.

Results:

O conteúdo Toni Bou closes X-Trial season with another victory in France aparece primeiro em Motorcycle Sports.

The rumors of recent hours suggest that Luca Marini is set to move to Repsol Honda in the 2024 MotoGP season. If confirmed, he would replace Marc Márquez, who is heading to Gresini.

If the Italian makes this team switch, it will undoubtedly be surprising. He is currently with the Mooney VR46 Racing Team — a team he knows well, led by his brother Valentino Rossi — riding a Ducati, which is currently the most competitive bike.

Honda offers a bike that is far from being able to regularly fight for podiums, requiring a lot of work to regain lost competitiveness in recent years. Álex Márquez (Gresini/Ducati) even considers it an ‘unnatural’ decision for Marini.

What could lead a rider to exchange the certainty of a season with conditions to be fast for the uncertainty of joining a team that is trying to rebuild and reorganize? In this case, we would say a lot.

At Repsol Honda, Marini would be a factory rider for the first time — a prospect that seems distant in the Ducati ranks for the near future. Despite representing a manufacturer with such a successful history, he wouldn’t have the pressure to deliver the best results immediately. In Honda, it is well known that the path ahead is tough and long.

Furthermore, the #10 would have the opportunity to take on a renewed project, with the ambition to return to the top positions, becoming part of Honda’s comeback in MotoGP. It is also a natural prestige to represent the most reputable team in the paddock, replacing someone like Marc Márquez.

In the short term, leaving VR46 Racing Team for Repsol Honda might seem like an incomprehensible step. Marini’s contract is only until the end of the next season, but rumors suggest that the agreement with Honda is until 2025, indicating greater stability.

Thinking in the medium and long term, the Italian rider has a rare opportunity to be an integral part of a development project aiming to go from the bottom to the top — a challenge possibly more exciting than he would have in his current team.

In the end, it’s an exploration of new challenges, something almost all riders need at some point in their careers. And a path that could bring him a lot of prestige if the change materializes and everything goes well.

O conteúdo Opinion: What could prompt Luca Marini to join Honda? aparece primeiro em Motorcycle Sports.