David Alonso will graduate from Moto2 and ride a Honda MotoGP bike next year, the Japanese manufacturer confirmed on Tuesday.
The 2024 Moto3 champion, who is currently fourth in the intermediate class standings, will race for either the factory team or satellite squad LCR next year. Diogo Moreira is also in contention to partner Fabio Quartararo.
Alonso arrives at Honda with the glowing endorsement of Marc Marquez, surely the brand’s greatest-ever rider.
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Marc Marquez is a huge admirer of new Honda signing David Alonso
A day before he sealed the 2024 Moto3 title at Motegi, Alonso wrote himself a letter about achieving his childhood dream, which he read aloud on Spanish television.
Marquez cried when he saw the footage, having already trained with the Colombian and his fellow protege Maximo Quiles.
Alonso smashed Valentino Rossi’s record (11 wins) by winning 14 victories en route to the lightweight class title. There were still four races left when he was confirmed as the champion.
Marquez sees himself in Alonso and predicted last year that he would be able to join ‘any brand he wants’ in MotoGP.
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Discussing one of those training sessions in 2024, Marquez described Alonso as a fast learner with a relentless approach.
“He’s a sponge,” he said, via Crash. “I was training with him and Maximo Quiles. Both of them, they are super young and talented. You say something to them at the beginning of the day, and at the end of the day they are doing better than you.
“Both of them, but especially David, give everything in training. Even in my career, I crashed a lot and I trained a lot and I won a lot, but still I need that young spirit in those trainings in 35 degrees to keep going at the limit. They gave me that spirit and it was a pleasure for me.”
Marquez believes Alonso is part of MotoGP’s next generation of superstars alongside Quiles, who will step up to Moto2 with Aspar next year, new Ducati signing Pedro Acosta and Gresini’s Fermin Aldeguer.
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