Marc Marquez mentions Valentino Rossi as he anticipates testing a Ducati

After winning three successive premier-class titles for Honda, Rossi sensationally announced he would be joining the struggling Yamaha project in 2004.

But HRC held the Italian to the letter of his contract by banning Rossi from testing for Yamaha after the end of the 2003 season, thus forcing him to wait until January.

The move, seen as unsporting by many, backfired from a PR point of view and didn’t have a tangible impact on his performance either: Rossi still went on to win his first race with Yamaha and claimed the 2004 title.

Given Honda’s stance after the loss of its previous multi-time champion, Marquez must have felt some trepidation at receiving permission to take part in the vital day of post-2023 testing on November 28.

After all, Marquez is not just leaving Honda, but - unlike Rossi - is doing so one year before the end of his planned contract and will ride for the dominant manufacturer in MotoGP (albeit in a satellite team).

But while Rossi took almost his whole crew with him in 2004, Marquez will leave behind a largely intact Repsol Honda team.

Perhaps for that reason, Honda’s current team management has given permission for Marquez to test for Gresini Ducati at Valencia, rather than wait for the first test of 2024 at Sepang in February.

Underlining that such permission cannot be taken for granted is the news that Toprak Razgatlioglu must wait until December to make his BMW WorldSBK debut, having not received the green light from Yamaha to ride in this week's Jerez WorldSBK test.

Responding to Razgatlioglu’s delayed debut, and the general issue of departing riders being made to wait by their current employer, Marquez said:

“For me, it depends on your relationship and how you do things.

“For example, it’s a fact that with Honda we have a very good relationship.

“I know that in the past, I heard that when Rossi left Honda for Yamaha they banned [him from testing].

“But it’s the way you do things. I was not against Honda. Never.

“We were talking, always, very calmly to find the best for the project and to understand the situation.

“Honda, they have a very human staff. And this relationship is 11 years together.

“I cannot give my opinion [on Razgatlioglu] if you don’t know how it goes inside.

“I am just happy with my situation. I want to say thank you to Honda again for letting me test the new bike.”

The 2023 MotoGP season has three rounds remaining before the remarkable sight of Marquez riding a Ducati, on the Tuesday after the final race in Valencia, becomes a reality.