Only one team wanted to wait for Marc Márquez and resist while he plucked the daisy with Honda. Gresini, a true racing family, could not miss the opportunity to sign one of the best in history. “Having Marc and Alex is making what seemed impossible possible,” explains Nadia Padovani, owner and only female team director in the Motorcycle World Championship, in conversation with EL PAÍS. “This shows that you should always believe in yourself and pursue your dreams,” adds Fausto’s widow, two-time 125cc world champion and promoter of the small but competitive Faenza structure.
Marc’s arrival this year has revolutionized the group’s media dimension. “Having an eight-time world champion raises expectations,” Padovani acknowledges. “He has an unmatched background and this allows the team to grow,” he highlights. Márquez has already confirmed in two grand prix that his decision to resign from his contract at Honda and put aside his status as a reference for a great brand has been correct. The Japanese are still lost at the bottom of the classification and he has already fulfilled the two main objectives that he had set for himself: having fun on the bike again and feeling competitive. Although he maintains a low profile, in the GP of the Americas he can no longer hide: he will start third this Sunday in the long race (9:00 p.m., DAZN), after finishing second in a ‘sprint’ dominated by Maverick Viñales, on a circuit where he has won seven times in nine appearances. The Ducati resists him less and less, largely thanks to the excellent work inside the garage.
“Our strong point is to continue working like the last two years, with a formula that has given us many successes,” highlights Michele Masini, team leader. “On a personnel level, the only new thing with Marc is Javi Ortiz, one of his trusted men in the garage at Honda. The arrival of his technical chief, Santi Hernández, was jointly valued, but it was decided not to break up a consolidated work group,” he details. The desire not to change the gears of his new family, which celebrates each of its members’ birthdays with a team dinner and a pie in the face, has been key to keeping the atmosphere intact within the team.
“Marc, Alex, Julià (the brothers’ father), those around the Márquez family, are pleasant and simple people, an aspect that has helped generate a good work environment,” says Carlo Merlini, director of communication and marketing for the team. . Márquez, who had always surrounded himself with friends in the box, has found a familiar pattern in his new destiny. It convinced him, in addition to having Ducati machinery, to learn up close how this group had revitalized his little brother, who in 2023 returned to the podium after two years of drought and won his first race (the sprint) in the queen category.
The Italians were clear about the key element of their offer: hugging him as if he were their own son. “It was key to maintain our identity, not make a revolution; The organizational chart has remained practically intact,” Merlini emphasizes. “The focus of the agreement was never monetary, but rather achieving a great technical package within a family environment, with the aim of having fun on the motorcycle again,” says Masini. “We are proud to be a family that has great passion and history,” celebrates Padovani. It still seems like a dream to everyone to see Márquez dressed in his colors, and they are delighted with how things are going. Although it is still early, they do not hide their shared desire. “We all compete with the idea of winning titles, and Marc has the potential to achieve it,” emphasizes Padovani.
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