Marc Márquez moved to Gresini in the 2024 MotoGP season, riding a Ducati. From a factory team he has been a part of since his debut in 2013, he transitioned to a satellite team with a bike from the previous year.
The goal of the eight-time world champion was to confirm his current worth and potential to compete for top positions – after all the physical problems and the delicate situation that Honda is facing in terms of bike performance.
Now that he’s at Gresini, Márquez is seen as one of the candidates for a spot in the Ducati factory team in 2025. However, Marco Melandri doubts that will happen, as he stated to Motosan.es:
– In reality, I was almost sure he was going to compete with KTM this year. I’m very happy that he’s with Gresini, but I don’t see any reason to see him at Ducati. For me, the only bike ready to fight for the championship is the KTM. And with Márquez, maybe now with [Pedro] Acosta, they were ready to do it already, immediately. For the championship, it’s very important to have another manufacturer fighting with Ducati.
The former rider also believes that Márquez is discovering what’s different about a satellite team: ‘With Gresini, a satellite team, Márquez didn’t notice the difference between a factory team and a satellite team. Now he’s starting to notice the difference’.