Giacomo Agostini reveals what Marc Marquez said to him before he ‘refused’ Honda in favour of Ducati

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Marc Marquez split from the factory Honda team at the end of the 2023 season after a successful tenure on the RC213V as the instrument that carried him to six world titles in the premier class of Grand Prix motorcycle racing.

Marquez spent 11 seasons atop the iconic Repsol-branded bike, winning countless races and etching his name alongside a vast number of MotoGP records that are unlikely to be broken again.

Towards the end of his stint, however, it became clear that the Honda was no longer competitive enough for the Spaniard to win his elusive ninth world title and match that of his fierce rival, Valentino Rossi.

Ducati came calling, and the offer to be back atop championship-winning machinery again was too appealing for him to turn down. So appealing, in fact, that Marquez took a 100% pay cut to ride for Gresini in 2024, according to journalist Mat Oxley.

READ MORE: Everything to know about Honda from the MotoGP team’s riders to leadership

Marc Marquez was only interested in the on-track results at Ducati and not the financial gain of Honda

Speaking to MotoGP during the Austrian Grand Prix weekend, legendary Grand Prix motorcycle rider Giacomo Agostini detailed the conversation he had with Marquez amid his unrest at Honda, which led to the eight-time world champion switching to Ducati ahead of the 2024 season.

“He had the courage to change from Honda to Ducati, and he refused a lot of money,” Agostini said. “After many years with Honda, he didn’t win. One day, he said to me, ‘If I finish fifth, sixth, seventh, I don’t want to race. I want to try to win’.

“Today, he has a bike that gives him the possibility to win, and he has an opportunity to show his 100%.”

Marquez is showing exactly that throughout the current campaign. Following the chequered flag in Spielberg, Marquez’s Ducati crew chief summed up his 2025 season in just one word: complete.

READ MORE: Everything to know about Marc Marquez from net worth to girlfriend

Giacomo Agostini believes Fabio Quartararo is the only rider who can dethrone Marc Marquez

Many believe Marquez’s sheer dominance in the premier class will continue into the 2026 season, with the new MotoGP regulations, which come into effect in 2027, being the earliest opportunity that we can see another rider topple the current eight-time world champion.

Agostini has tipped Fabio Quartararo to be the man to do that, forecasting that Yamaha could be a strong contender in dethroning the Ducati dominance that has been present within MotoGP since 2020.

The Frenchman certainly has his work cut out for him when 2027 comes around, and he is well aware of that. After watching Q2 in Austria from the sidelines, Quartararo was in awe of Marquez despite the latter’s crash in the closing stages of the session, which saw him qualify in P4 for the Grand Prix.

Two-time champion Casey Stoner has cast his doubts on the new MotoGP regulations. The Australian isn’t happy with the direction that the sport is going, and feels like the riders are being given too many aids, which, in turn, has decreased the amount of talent that is necessary to ride them on the limit.