Marc Marquez Faces Sabbatical as Poor Performance Continues in MotoGP

JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com – As if losing his spurs, Repsol Honda racer Marc Marquez continues to experience bad luck in MotoGP, after he had a brutal accident at Jerez 2020.

Even in the 2023 season, it was recorded that the Spanish rider had never managed to bring the RC213V across the finish line while participating in the main race.

Seeing his poor performance, the racer who is nicknamed The Baby Alien has the opportunity to get a sabbatical, aka ‘home’ by Honda next season, even though Marquez’s contract with the Japanese factory team continues until the end of 2024.

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This was stated by MotoGP manager Simone Basttisella, who has also handled reliable racers such as Andrea Dovizioso and Alvaro Bautista.

According to him, Honda could have given Marquez a sabbatical due to his poor performance this season. The same is true of former MotoGP rider Jorge Lorenzo, who was kicked out of Honda when his contract still had one more season left due to poor results in MotoGP.

AFP/SONNY TUMBELAKA

Repsol Honda Spain team rider Marc Marquez speaks during a press conference ahead of the Indonesian MotoGP race at the Mandalika International Circuit in Kuta Mandalika in Central Lombok on March 17, 2022.

“Honda has always been very open in saying they would never keep a rider on hold if he didn’t want to stay,” said Battistella, quoted from The Race, Thursday (14/7/2023).

“And they let Jorge Lorenzo go a few years ago, even though he still had one year with them, they let him go. Marc will probably be at home for one season.”

Nevertheless, Battistella said, Marquez remains one of the best riders in MotoGP. For this reason, he hopes that Honda will immediately improve the performance of the motorbike so that the 30-year-old rider can return to being competitive on the track.

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“Marc is an extraordinary racer. He’s had an amazing journey through injuries and surgeries, and the guy just came back, and he’s as good as ever. So, it didn’t occur to me to say, ‘take time off now,’” said Battistella.

“In fact, if I were Marquez, I would probably be even worse! But he is the team’s most valuable asset.”

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