Jorge Lorenzo notices eye-opening way Marc Marquez made Honda’s job harder

Marquez has now quit Honda a year before his big-money deal was due to expire and will ride for Gresini Ducati this year, hoping a better bike allows him to fight for the MotoGP title.

He leaves behind Honda who have struggled for the past few seasons, and whose bike has slipped significantly behind the dominant Ducatis.

Lorenzo, who rode alongside Marquez for Repsol Honda in the final year of his own career, was initially asked if the Japanese manufacturer’s woes began when they lost Dani Pedrosa, who joined KTM as a test rider after retiring from racing.

“It is very easy to simplify it to a single conclusion like 'it was because they don't have Dani Pedrosa',” Lorenzo replied to AS.

“No, I think it has been a combination of things, among them that Marc Marquez has a very particular and very special style that is far from what a standard rider is. 

“A common rider does not brake in such a brutal way, nor does he ride in such an extreme way as Marquez. 

“If Marc is the one who steers the evolution of the motorcycle, he will make a motorcycle that suits him well, but that won't suit a more standard rider. 

“Without Dani Pedrosa he has taken that line. 

“It is also true that Marc's injury caused Honda to lose a leader for half of the last three years. 

“And, above all, the rise of Ducati with Gigi Dall'Igna at the level of ideas and technologies. It has simply been superior. 

“In fact, the European factories, along with Yamaha, have copied many of the ideas that Gigi and his engineers have created.”

Ducati supremo Dall’Igna rejected the opportunity to join Honda to lead their comeback this year.

Lorenzo believes the addition of Dall’Igna could have solved many of Honda’s issues.

“Yes, definitely,” he said. 

“If Honda had signed Gigi two or three years earlier, right now it would possibly have a better bike and not have lost Marquez.”

Repsol Honda replaced Marquez with Luca Marini, who will join Joan Mir this year.

But their pursuit of a replacement was a drawn-out saga which took them down several avenues.

“I understand the fear of any rider seeing that the best rider on the grid decides to give up that big contract to leave Honda,” Lorenzo said. 

“I understand the fear, especially of young people like Fermin Aldeguer, of rejecting a motorcycle like this. 

“A motorcycle that offers those sensations, because it is a double-edged sword, very very sharp.”

Honda are trying to return to the summit of MotoGP by hiring crucial behind-the-scenes staff, and they also stand to benefit from new concessions rules.

“If you lose patience, you sink into this situation... you won't get out,” Lorenzo warned. 

“It takes a lot of patience, with the Japanese philosophy of 'kaizen' [continuous improvement] and little by little putting the pieces of the puzzle together to once again have a competitive motorcycle-rider pairing.

“But right now, Ducati has the best bikes and the best riders, so it's going to be difficult to beat them.”