After recently confirming a new two-year contract with Ducati, Marc Márquez revealed that he held informal conversations with representatives from Honda, who were interested in his possible return.
According to El Periódico, this meeting took place on the Friday afternoon of last year’s Valencia Grand Prix, the final race of the 2025 season. The encounter was held inside one of the hospital units of Honda Racing Corporation, while Márquez was recovering from an injury after winning his seventh MotoGP world title in Japan before getting injured in Indonesia.
In statements to DAZN during the Dutch Grand Prix in Assen, the Ducati rider assured that the meeting was just a cordial exchange and that no formal offers or contractual discussions took place.
“There was an informal conversation, but I always made it clear that I wanted to listen to Ducati first,” said the reigning world champion. “If I was happy there, I wouldn’t go negotiating with one manufacturer or another. We sat down with Ducati and reached an agreement right away.”
Márquez has always expressed his strong bond with Honda, the brand that opened the doors to MotoGP for him and with which he has achieved six of his seven titles in this category. He left Honda at the end of 2023 after agreeing to terminate his contract a year early, leaving behind a salary of approximately 20 million euros to join Gresini Racing with a Ducati without payment. This decision, he explained, was more rational than emotional, given his strong connection to Honda after more than a decade with the manufacturer.
“Returning to Honda would have been a very romantic move, and naturally it was something I wanted,” Márquez admitted. “But I already take enough risks on the track. Sometimes you have to make decisions with your head more than with your heart, as I did when I decided to leave Honda. In the end, it turned out to be the best decision.”
After his decision, Honda focused its attention on Fabio Quartararo, who has already been convinced to lead a new project that will revolve around the 850cc regulations set to be implemented in 2027. The new technical regulations expected for 2027 could alter the competitive order and open the door for new manufacturers.
Nevertheless, Márquez believes that Ducati and Aprilia will continue to be the references. “I think Ducati will remain the reference, along with Aprilia,” concluded the Cervera rider. Indeed, neither he nor other prominent riders have been able to take advantage of this situation in contract negotiations given such a significant change in the rules.
Written by FormulaRapidaAI
