2024 silly season!

#22 said:

One other possibility....Augusto Fernandez? On loan for a year from KTM?

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That thought had crossed my mind too. With all the clickbate fake and semifake news going around the news generators seem to of missed that one.

But if he goes there for a year on a Ducati, they may not get him back.??

For me, with two Ducatis open to ride Marc is a fool to not take the chance. Jump on the Pramac and slay.

Barbedwirebikerr said:

For me, with two Ducatis open to ride Marc is a fool to not take the chance. Jump on the Pramac and slay.

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The Morbidelli-Pramac negotiations seem to be pretty advanced already, also Ducati has been dismissive of signing Marc in the past (mostly because they want to let it be known that it is the bike doing the winning, not the rider) and all Pramac riders sign their contract with Ducati, not the team per se. Gresini riders in contrast sign with the team, much like the VR46 team guys.

Speedweek says Marc has made the call to join Gresini where he and Alex will be teammates. According to the article he said on Spanish television that he already made his decision for 2024 and his HRC contract includes a clause that says he won't have to pay to get out if he goes to a customer team.

JFM01 said:

Speedweek says Marc has made the call to join Gresini where he and Alex will be teammates. According to the article he said on Spanish television that he already made his decision for 2024 and his HRC contract includes a clause that says he won't have to pay to get out if he goes to a customer team.

Sensation: Marc Márquez mit Bruder Alex bei Gresini

Márc Márquez hat sich entschieden. Er wird Repsol Honda nach elf Jahren verlassen und bildet voraussichtlich 2024 das Gresini-Ducati-Team mit Bruder Alex.

www.speedweek.com

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This is what I predicted in June. I hope it is true. I'm not holding my breath until it is official.

Rumor is he will be taking Redbull, Repsol, and Estrella Galicia with him.

Havey said:

But if he goes there for a year on a Ducati, they may not get him back.??

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Would he want to? I predict if he goes to Gresini, he does so on a 1 yr contract so that he is available for factory teams in 2025. With the history they have, I'm sure they'd take him back if needed.

Barbedwirebikerr said:

For me, with two Ducatis open to ride Marc is a fool to not take the chance. Jump on the Pramac and slay.

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I agree. Another season on that Honda could kill or paralyse him.

MichaelBolton said:

The Morbidelli-Pramac negotiations seem to be pretty advanced already, also Ducati has been dismissive of signing Marc in the past (mostly because they want to let it be known that it is the bike doing the winning, not the rider) and all Pramac riders sign their contract with Ducati, not the team per se. Gresini riders in contrast sign with the team, much like the VR46 team guys.

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But as Gigi said, why wouldnt they want Marc on their bike? If he wins, you win. If he doesn't, he's still not winning on another bike.

JFM01 said:

Speedweek says Marc has made the call to join Gresini where he and Alex will be teammates. According to the article he said on Spanish television that he already made his decision for 2024 and his HRC contract includes a clause that says he won't have to pay to get out if he goes to a customer team.

Sensation: Marc Márquez mit Bruder Alex bei Gresini

Márc Márquez hat sich entschieden. Er wird Repsol Honda nach elf Jahren verlassen und bildet voraussichtlich 2024 das Gresini-Ducati-Team mit Bruder Alex.

www.speedweek.com

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MdubSTYLIE said:

This is what I predicted in June. I hope it is true. I'm not holding my breath until it is official.

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I'm trying not to get my hopes up. Trying to put my desires aside, it does make sense.

Edit, thinking about this more. Iker Lecuona has long said he has been told by Honda he is confirmed for 2024, but doesn't know if it is for WSBK or MotoGP. I assumed it would be for the vacant Rins seat, but we know that is now being taken by Zarco. So have they been keeping him on ice because they know, internally, that Marquez is leaving?

MdubSTYLIE said:

Rumor is he will be taking Redbull, Repsol, and Estrella Galicia with him.

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Repsol too?!

I know that Redbull and Estrella are personal sponsors but that's huge if Repsol goes with him.

#22 said:

This is my 'prediction' for next yr. With a few Assumptions:

1. KTM buy out RNF Aprilia
2. Aprilia don't keep Oliveira somehow (I hope they do). It always frustrates me you get some riders who do nothing, and everyone thinks they are the bees knees. Yet riders like Oliveira, who has won more races than Vinales over the last 3 yrs, gets hung out to dry.

View attachment 13780

If KTM don't get a 3rd team, then Marc will stay at Honda with Lecuona replacing Rins at LCR and I imagine Acosta will be on the GasGas at the expense of Pol.

Denials have been issued that Mir is looking for a way out of Honda too.

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Well, that was off by a fair bit, so here are some updates.

Motorsport.com are reporting that Repsol and Estrella Galicia have contracts with Honda they cannot get out from (yet), so may not be following Marc if he moves

Marc Marquez flirts with a possible Gresini Ducati 2024 MotoGP switch

The possibility of Marquez ending up in the Faenza-based team is real, and that's not new. But Motorsport.com understands that it is much more complicated to get this deal over the line.



Neither Repsol nor Estrella Galicia, the other two brands that accompany Marquez, have agreed escape clauses with Honda.


Marquez has asked the Japanese manufacturer to present him with a plan for hiring technical specialists in the key areas of today's bikes (aerodynamics, electronics), and Alberto Puig is working on that list.


The ex-racer has a week to convince those he thinks are the best additions and, once the list is ready, he will present it to Marquez.


Neither the eight-time world champion, nor those responsible for HRC, are confident that the RC213V prototype that the Catalan will test on Monday at Misano, and which is the basis of the 2024 prototype, will represent the change of concept that he has been demanding for some time.


In fact, the engine of that bike will not be different from the one that has been used on the bikes so far this season.


That same 2024 machine is the one that Stefan Bradl, the brand's tester, will be riding as early as Friday.

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Marc has been asking for technical recruitment since early in the season and they are only getting him a list next week?!

Sponsors leaving Honda would be shortsighted, specially given Gresini seems to be a one year stop gap (unless Marc can negotiate a current spec factory bike). Will be interesting to see how all this develops. Mir will be the biggest loser, having no option but to being stuck with Honda for another year. Lecuona will get his desired return to MotoGP and he'll easily do better than Mir if we compare their performances in the last races.

If the rumor gets confirmed, the more interesting thing to me would be guessing what will happen with Marc for 2025. If he does really well on the satellite Duc, does he get promoted to the factory team, screwing Martín in the process? Or is he going to KTM (in the form of MV Augusta maybe) regardless?

Also I think all this is bad for Quartararo. If Marc returns to dominance the next season, Fabio won't be the most desired free agent for 2025. His hopes hinges on Aleix retiring and leaving a factory Aprilia seat free.

Yeah, the internet is exploding with Marquez rumors today. Carlo Pernat predicted Honda would withdraw if they lost sponsor money because of the rules and rider market problems they are having. We'll see if they can stay, if they lose Repsol and Red Bull money.

If the rumors are true that Marc is headed to Gresini and taking bags of sponsor money with him, it could hint that Gresini is up to much bigger things. Maybe they will become bikes 5 and 6 for an MV Agusta branded KTM team in 2025? Who knows?

mylexicon said:

Yeah, the internet is exploding with Marquez rumors today. Carlo Pernat predicted Honda would withdraw if they lost sponsor money because of the rules and rider market problems they are having. We'll see if they can stay, if they lose Repsol and Red Bull money.

If the rumors are true that Marc is headed to Gresini and taking bags of sponsor money with him, it could hint that Gresini is up to much bigger things. Maybe they will become bikes 5 and 6 for an MV Agusta branded KTM team in 2025? Who knows?

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Honda grabbing their .... toys and going home wouldn't even have an effect on the current state of motogp. They are so bad their riders don't have any screen time race day or even the slightest effect on the race. It would be far less noticeable than when Suzuki left and no one even talks about that. Motogp is in good hands with Ducati, ktm, and Aprillia. Go ahead and leave save the riders a trip to the clinic.

#22 said:

Well, that was off by a fair bit, so here are some updates.

View attachment 14358

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I was thinking Acosta was going straight to the factory ride or did I miss something?

MdubSTYLIE said:

Honda grabbing their .... toys and going home wouldn't even have an effect on the current state of motogp. They are so bad their riders don't have any screen time race day or even the slightest effect on the race. It would be far less noticeable than when Suzuki left and no one even talks about that. Motogp is in good hands with Ducati, ktm, and Aprillia. Go ahead and leave save the riders a trip to the clinic.

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At this point, it seems somewhat clear that the current goings-on at the FIM and in the EU parliament are a thinly-veiled attempt to remove access to the European consumer markets. Perhaps the European manufacturers are just aggressively filling a void created by a group of apathetic Japanese industrialists or maybe this is the sort of irregular trade war for which the EU is known. Who knows? I guess you can't really look bad if you're fighting the Japanese for domestic access, but as a fan of motorsport, the illegitimate dismissal of the Japanese manufacturers is not an outcome that benefits me.

If the European manufacturers succeed, the cloak and dagger backstabbing will begin among the teams and manufacturers, just as it does in F1, because it's celebrated. The press and fans are told to revel in the filth left behind by the diabolical "geniuses" who de-stabilize and ruin everything--just as the hero worship has already started for Gigi. The tech regs will change such that the riders have little influence on the race outcome, and MotoGP will finally become 2-wheeled F1 with no chance of reform. Hopefully none of this will come to pass.

Anyway, new hilarious rumors are swirling that HRC will only remain in MotoGP if Jorge Lorenzo agrees to come out of retirement and race for them. Silly season indeed!

mylexicon said:

Anyway, new hilarious rumors are swirling that HRC will only remain in MotoGP if Jorge Lorenzo agrees to come out of retirement and race for them. Silly season indeed!

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That's just taking the piss. He's fat for a professional rider now and currently cares more about cars than bikes. He couldn't ride a better Honda in 2019, imagine current Jorge in today's pig of a bike.

mylexicon said:

At this point, it seems somewhat clear that the current goings-on at the FIM and in the EU parliament are a thinly-veiled attempt to remove access to the European consumer markets. Perhaps the European manufacturers are just aggressively filling a void created by a group of apathetic Japanese industrialists or maybe this is the sort of irregular trade war for which the EU is known. Who knows? I guess you can't really look bad if you're fighting the Japanese for domestic access, but as a fan of motorsport, the illegitimate dismissal of the Japanese manufacturers is not an outcome that benefits me.

If the European manufacturers succeed, the cloak and dagger backstabbing will begin among the teams and manufacturers, just as it does in F1, because it's celebrated. The press and fans are told to revel in the filth left behind by the diabolical "geniuses" who de-stabilize and ruin everything--just as the hero worship has already started for Gigi. The tech regs will change such that the riders have little influence on the race outcome, and MotoGP will finally become 2-wheeled F1 with no chance of reform. Hopefully none of this will come to pass.

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Unfortunately this makes a lot of sense.

mylexicon said:

Anyway, new hilarious rumors are swirling that HRC will only remain in MotoGP if Jorge Lorenzo agrees to come out of retirement and race for them. Silly season indeed!

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I can think of an Australian superstar who would be happy to give the Honda a shot. Anthony Gobert! What? Were you guys thinking I was talking about someone else?

MdubSTYLIE said:

I can think of an Australian superstar who would be happy to give the Honda a shot. Anthony Gobert! What? Were you guys thinking I was talking about someone else?

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I was thinking of Garry McCoy, of course

MichaelBolton said:

I was thinking of Garry McCoy, of course

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I was going for Ant West.

I wonder if Ezpelata is calm?