Photo: motogp.com
Rumors on defending MotoGP champion Marc Marquez having already started negotiations with HRC have surfaced after his second win of the 2014 season at the Circuit of the Americas, past weekend. Obviously, all eyes turned towards Livio Suppo, the Team Principal.
Even though certain Italian publications already started to rave about the imminent new contract Marquez will sign with Honda, Suppo declared in a recent interview with motogp.com that such negotiations have not started yet and it’s way too early for such talks.
However, the HRC official only spoke about the team and Marquez, without even mentioning Dani Pedrosa. Some say that this could be the last season of Pedrosa riding for Repsol Honda, especially as Casey Stoner is becoming a constant presence in the rumor mill.
Fact is that both Honda and Marquez have all the reasons for continuing their relationship past the end of 2014, and only a major financial issue could prevent them from inking a new 2-year contract. Marc Marquez and Honda go back two more seasons, with 2011 seeing him a Moto2 runner-up, only to become a World Champion the next year.
And becoming the youngest MotoGP champion ever in 2013, it’s hard to believe that HRC would let him go too easily. In fact Marquez is exactly what Honda needs, as it embodies the strong ties between the racing Heritage of the Japanese manufacturer and the younger generation: good for racing and even better for business.
“Marc likes Honda and we like him, but it’s really early to speak about a contract. My feeling is that it will be natural sooner or later, but at the moment nothing is done. If you think there are really negotiations going on already, well there are not. Our priority is to keep him on board and his priority is to stay with Honda, so that’s the situation,” Suppo adds.
Stay tuned for more as the championship continues. And as if the first two rounds were not intense enough, we’re getting ready for the comeback on Argentinian grounds. Knowing how punishing the new track at the Autodromo Termas de Rio Hondo it’s really interesting to see how the tires will perform. Follow the link for more on the MotoGP Bridgestone tires issues.
However, the HRC official only spoke about the team and Marquez, without even mentioning Dani Pedrosa. Some say that this could be the last season of Pedrosa riding for Repsol Honda, especially as Casey Stoner is becoming a constant presence in the rumor mill.
Fact is that both Honda and Marquez have all the reasons for continuing their relationship past the end of 2014, and only a major financial issue could prevent them from inking a new 2-year contract. Marc Marquez and Honda go back two more seasons, with 2011 seeing him a Moto2 runner-up, only to become a World Champion the next year.
And becoming the youngest MotoGP champion ever in 2013, it’s hard to believe that HRC would let him go too easily. In fact Marquez is exactly what Honda needs, as it embodies the strong ties between the racing Heritage of the Japanese manufacturer and the younger generation: good for racing and even better for business.
“Marc likes Honda and we like him, but it’s really early to speak about a contract. My feeling is that it will be natural sooner or later, but at the moment nothing is done. If you think there are really negotiations going on already, well there are not. Our priority is to keep him on board and his priority is to stay with Honda, so that’s the situation,” Suppo adds.
Stay tuned for more as the championship continues. And as if the first two rounds were not intense enough, we’re getting ready for the comeback on Argentinian grounds. Knowing how punishing the new track at the Autodromo Termas de Rio Hondo it’s really interesting to see how the tires will perform. Follow the link for more on the MotoGP Bridgestone tires issues.
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