Much has been said about concessions and whether they should be allowed to Honda and Yamaha, two of the manufacturers with the longest history in MotoGP. Marc Marquez is clear and argues that this is essential, especially with the riders in mind, as they could have more options in their careers, as well as increasing levels of competitiveness in general.
The former world champion, who will be leaving one of the most difficult manufacturers at the end of the year to join Gresini on a Desmosedici, spoke about how important it is for him that the two Japanese manufacturers have concessions: ‘Yes, it’s important for me that they have them. For me it’s important to equalise the manufacturers, above all because I believe it’s better for the riders. If you have a bike that has a big difference (to the competition), the riders will look for that bike. If you have a few manufacturers and bikes with a similar level, then the riders will be more important’ and he clarified:
– Of course all the riders are important. In the end there are eight Ducatis and the riders have more or less the same weapons but, yes, it’s good for the championship to have different manufacturers [being competitive]. Even if you’re a big manufacturer, if in the end you don’t have results, they should keep working and be in MotoGP.
On the question of whether having concessions this year would have helped him – as a Honda rider – the spaniard explained: ‘It’s one thing to have concessions, it’s another to find a way to use them properly, and that’s not easy. In the end it’s not easy to use the concessions in the right way but, when I made my decision, I already knew that I was 90 to 95 per cent sure that Honda would have concessions for 2024’.
He concluded: ‘Of course it would help. Of course having the possibility to develop the engine, to change more parameters, you have more options to reach the level and of course that would help, not only me, but the whole Honda and Yamaha project’.