Gresini chief Nadia Padovani explains why she was ‘scared’ after signing Marc Marquez from Honda

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Gresini were the beneficiaries when Marc Marquez took the seismic decision to leave Honda in 2024. Marquez had to break his contract with the Japanese manufacturer after a historic partnership.

Marquez won six premier-class titles on Honda machinery, all between 2013 and 2019. But after he returned from a severe arm injury at the 2020 Spanish GP, the team had started to decline.

Accepting that he could no longer win championships on their motorcycle, he walked. Ducati were the dominant team on the grid when he took the decision in 2023, but they had no space at their factory squad.

Thus, Marquez opted to join satellite team Gresini, even though it meant riding a year-old motorcycle. Jorge Martin and Pramac were second in the hierarchy.

The Ant of Cervera knew that a promotion to Davide Tardozzi’s team was on the cards if he reminded the MotoGP grid of his greatness. And Ducati were so impressed by his performances that they snubbed a title-chasing Martin for the man in third place.

Nadia Padovani reflects on Gresini’s risky move for Marc Marquez

Speaking to journalist Giovanni Zamagni on his YouTube channel, Gresini owner Nadia Padovani rejected any notion that they’d ‘lucked’ into signing Marquez. It was a stepping stone for the legendary rider, but he’d received enticing feedback from his brother Alex.

Alex had joined for the 2023 season and scored two Grand Prix podiums, as well as a couple of Sprint victories. Two years earlier, Enea Bastianini had finished third in the championship for the Faenza outfit.

Alberto Puig is adamant that Honda didn’t make one last offer to Marquez, but Padovani says he gave up ‘a lot of money’ in the final year of his deal.

She was initially a little scared, aware of the unique pressure his arrival would bring, but team staff reassured her. Gresini took a chance by waiting until the final stages of the rider market to confirm their line-up.

“Luck? You have to earn it, build it,” Padovani said. “When eight-time world champion Marc Marquez decided to come to us, he really left a lot [behind] because he’d been at Honda for many years, he won a lot. To come to us, he had to leave a lot of money, it’s true.

“It wasn’t a stroke of luck. He came because we had Alex, and Alex was immediately doing well with us. He probably saw Alex smiling while he was suffering a lot over there [at Honda].

“He knew that we are a team who works well, that we are great professionals and we have nothing less than the official teams. I was also afraid, because the eight-time world champion was coming.

“But I said to my guys, ‘We will be able to manage it, to give him what he wants, we have to be professionals, not make any mistakes’. My guys started laughing. They said, ‘Come on, don’t worry’.

“I was really happy to have waited for Marc. We waited until October because he had to get out of this contract. I really wanted it. Who wouldn’t have? Let’s be clear.”

VR46 rider rejects damaging rumour about Marc Marquez and Ducati

Gresini continue to impress even after Marquez’s departure. Alex won his first Grand Prix in Jerez, while rookie Fermin Aldeguer scored a main podium at Le Mans.

With Marquez Jr currently second in the world championship, one pundit even thinks Aldeguer could overtake Francesco Bagnaia. Gresini are currently on for second in the teams’ standings, which would be their best finish since 2004.

They’re currently 38 points above VR46 even though Fabio di Giannantonio is riding a GP25. There are some rumours in the paddock that Ducati have built their newest bike around Marquez, hurting Bagnaia and ‘Diggia’.

However, Di Giannantonio insists Marquez hasn’t ‘revolutionised’ the Ducati, instead reaping the benefits of the team’s long-term development. He’s the only rider who’s making it look like a considerable upgrade on its predecessor right now.