Marco Bezzecchi
Marc Marquez’s divorce from Honda ended with no bad blood from either side of the split, and his former crew chief at the Japanese constructor has recently revealed how he actually encouraged the exit.
During the 2023 MotoGP season, Marc Marquez’s MotoGP career was at an all-time low.
The phenomenon hadn’t won a race for a season and a half, and the poor performance of Honda’s prototype only compounded the injury issues he had been struggling with for several years at the time.
A way out came in the form of a Ducati bike with Gresini Racing. Just like they do in the current MotoGP climate, the Italian constructor had the most dominant bike, and that’s all that Marquez cared about.
After claiming his seventh premier class title in 2025, Marquez explained that his career could have ended if the ride at Gresini hadn’t worked out the way it did, due to the fact that he needed to find out whether he still had what it takes to compete with the very best.
However, the move went even better than expected, and it wouldn’t have been possible without the encouragement of his former right-hand man at Honda, Santi Hernandez.
- READ MORE: Marc Marquez’s ex-Honda mechanic pinpoints the moment he ‘hit rock bottom’ during injury nightmare
Fill in the blank: Marc Marquez would have won _ titles without his arm injury
Marc Marquez’s ex-crew chief explains why he told the Spaniard he had to leave Honda
During DAZN’s latest documentary detailing the return of Marquez to top MotoGP form from the depths of his injury nightmare, Hernandez revealed what he told the Spaniard during the darkest days of his career.
Marquez was unsure whether his recently rebuilt right arm was the issue, or the calibre of the Honda RC213V that year.
For Hernandez, the culprit was obvious. He detailed a conversation he had with Marquez during the docuseries, saying, “I had absolutely no doubt.
“I told him, ‘You’re not the one who’s finished. You have to leave. Right now, we’re not giving you the tools to recover what you want to recover that happiness, that enjoyment on the bike.
“‘It’s not about winning the World Championship anymore, you want to have fun again, because that’s what you love.
“‘You come on race weekends, and you’re not having a good time, you’re not bitter, but frustrated. You’re thinking more about wanting to leave and disconnect than being at the track, which is where you like to be.
“‘So, right now we don’t have the tools. I’m sorry. Is it a risky bet? Yes. That doesn’t guarantee you’ll win again tomorrow, but it does guarantee that you’ll realise that you’re not the problem.'”
- READ MORE: Five reasons why Marc Marquez simply must leave Ducati and rejoin Honda for the 2027 MotoGP season
Marc Marquez stunned during his first season with a Ducati bike in 2024
Despite the green light from his crew chief at the team, Honda’s sponsors made Marquez’s exit a lot more difficult than it needed to be.
However, the deal was done, and the Ant of Cervera was to be a Gresini rider for the 2024 MotoGP season.
Marquez blew his new colleagues away during the year-long stint at the Italian satellite team, with one technician recalling how the Spaniard could draw out a throttle trace which was accurate to the data that had been recorded.
The 32-year-old would go on to enjoy a return to the top step of the podium with Gresini that year and, in turn, secured himself a seat at the factory Ducati team for the following year.
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