Marco Bezzecchi
Marc Marquez secretly met with Honda in the MotoGP paddock at the end of last year before signing his Ducati deal, according to a report.
Ducati confirmed Marquez’s renewal on Tuesday but the first reports suggesting the deal was done emerged as far back as January.
While this outcome always felt inevitable given the success he achieved in 2025, El Periodico have revealed that Marquez’s former team reached out to him to gauge the chances of a reunion.
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Marc Marquez spoke with Honda in the Valencia Grand Prix paddock
The report states that Marquez held a meeting ‘no-one knows’ about at the 2025 Valencia Grand Prix. The Spaniard wasn’t racing that weekend following his injury in Indonesia, but he was present in the paddock ahead of the official prizegiving ceremony.
On the Friday, Honda’s ‘top brass’ asked Alberto Puig to ‘sound out’ Marquez about the future. He agreed to a conversation in the team truck behind the garage.
The meeting was described as ‘cordial, pleasant and sincere’, which reflects the ‘excellent relationship’ between the two parties. Honda acknowledged the ‘difficult’ situation they were facing but expressed total confidence that they would have a winning bike ‘sooner rather than later’.
While reports suggest Honda offered Marquez a €20m deal in a last-ditch attempt to prise him away from Ducati, El Periodico say money didn’t come up in the Valencia talks.
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A source close to Marquez says he ‘never’ saw any reason to leave Ducati, where he feels ‘happy, comfortable, valued and competitive’. It was out of respect that he decided to hear Honda out.
Marquez won six MotoGP titles with Honda in seven seasons between 2013 and 2019, making it the most successful combination in modern history. But injuries, in conjunction with the brand’s decline, saw the glory days come to an end.
At the end of 2023, an emotional Marquez terminated his contract to join Gresini, which was effectively his stepping stone to the Ducati factory team.
‘Many believe’ Marquez has signed his last contract, having committed for a further two years at Ducati. If that’s true, then the prospect of a return to Honda will remain a fairytale.
Honda have managed to attract a superstar for 2027, with Fabio Quartararo set to join from Yamaha. The second seat will either go to David Alonso or Diego Moreira.
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