A year ago, Marc Márquez approached an injured Spielberg. After undergoing surgery for the fourth time to correct once and for all his problems in the right humerus, his visit was intended to harangue those responsible for Honda. Today they continue without finding solutions to straighten the course of the motorcycle. At the moment, only words come and the wind takes them every weekend, when he gets on the machine and ends up on the ground, still unable to finish the race on a single Sunday now that the MotoGP World Championship reaches its halfway point at the GP of Austria.
Amid the growing rumors about his departure, the eight-time world champion sent another notice to his factory in the run-up to the competition in the Alpine country. “In competition, the key is ambition. If you have ambition, you will arrive. KTM is making very good additions, in the field of engineers, and also with pilots”, said the man from Cervera in the program ‘sports and talk of ServusTV, owned by Red Bull.
On the beautiful hills that serve as an immense garden for the layout owned by the energy drink brand, which has sponsored Márquez since his entry into the small category of the World Cup in 2008, the 30-year-old runner lavished praise on the Mattighofen factory . “When KTM started they were last on the grid. And, little by little, they have been getting closer. He is now the second best constructor in the championship. But very soon, more than people can think, he will be the first, ”he predicted.
These words were expressed sitting next to Pit Beirer, sports manager of KTM. The executive, blushing at the pilot’s praise, finally publicly acknowledged what was an open secret. There were talks to remove Márquez from Honda, but his fidelity to the brand with the golden wing continues to prevent the definitive break. “I am afraid that Marc will not be with us next year, because he has a contract. We discussed it and he told us clearly, ”he declared.
The European manufacturer has the need to win a motorcycle on the grid for Pedro Acosta or cut off the head of one of its current riders, all of them with a guaranteed contract for 2024. “We already have five riders for only four bikes available,” Beirer recalled, although this weekend he intends to put pressure on Dorna to increase that quota.
After a disastrous new start to the season, Márquez has reiterated actively and passively that his ambition continues to be to revive the Honda project. The only public concession of the pilot, with many more doubts inside, is that he will see where he lands in 2025 when he ends his current contract. “There has always been a good relationship, it is nothing new and there is nothing to hide. There has been no approach to get to anything else right now. In 2025 we will see”, confessed the Catalan.
KTM has already opened the door to that possibility and will have slots available. At the Red Bull Ring, where everything is linked to the powerful multinational that gives its name to the circuit, it is clear that the interests of all parties involved are aligned. Jaime Martínez Recasens, better known as Jimmy, the new representative and in charge of the strategic shift in the image of the eight-time world champion, began working at Red Bull Spain in 2011. Spanish Wakeboard Champion, since his retirement from sports he has been climbing the rungs in the ranks of the company and came to lead the division of marketing of motor as of 2018. During the transfer of Márquez to Madrid in 2022, Jimmy was one of the key figures in his adaptation to the city while both forged the creation of their own representation agency, Vertical.
