Marc Marquez has re-signed with Repsol Honda in an unprecedented four-year deal that will take him right up to the end of the 2024 MotoGP World Championship season.
The six-time MotoGP World Champion headed into 2020 with his deal set to expire at the end of the year, but this new agreement will take him well beyond the traditional two-year cycle.
“I am very proud to announce my renewal with Honda Racing Corporation for the next four years,” he said. “Honda gave me the opportunity to arrive in the MotoGP class with a factory bike in 2013.
“Since the first year we have achieved success together and I am very happy to continue being part of the Honda family. HRC gives me the confidence to extend this partnership to obtain our common goal and continue our story of success.”
Discussing the unusual terms of the deal, HRC President Yoshishige Nomura says a ‘unique champion deserves a unique deal;.
“We are happy to announce that, after the end of the current season, Marc will stay in the Honda family for four more years. We started talking a few months ago, as both parties wanted to stay together and continue winning.
“Marc started his career in the premier class in 2013 and with him we have won six of the last seven MotoGP titles. As a unique champion, he deserves a unique deal. I am very confident in this partnership and I wish everyone involved continued success."
Why has Marc Marquez signed such a long deal?
While Marquez’s decision to remain with Repsol Honda is in no way surprising, the length of the deal at this stage in the career very much is. Few riders confirm their plans beyond two years to give them flexibility in case of an uncompetitive period for the team or a change in management.
However, Marquez and his people have become so engrained into the HRC philosophy, that he is a de facto manager within the team, as well as a rider. While this is likely to irk other more expendable members within the HRC fold as the team focuses its resources on one rider, the formula certainly works for Honda.
Indeed, such is Marquez influence and priority in Repsol Honda, one can imagine no other team would be capable of meeting his demands at this dominant period of his career.
It's also worth pointing out Repsol is expected to end its long association with Honda and MotoGP this year, meaning any new backer - rumoured to be Shell - will probably have signed on the dotted line on the proviso Marquez remains, not to mention grease the wheels with some green too.
The deal also means he will be in line to break Giacomo Agostini’s record of eight premier class titles as a Honda rider, with a potential of five more championships to come his way in HRC colours.
Some may wonder whether the length of the deal does set a deadline for when Marquez might be tempted by a switch elsewhere to solidify his reputation as the greatest MotoGP rider of all time, but the racing landscape is almost certain to have changed by then – not least because it will have heralded the next cycle of technical regulations.
Remarkably, even by then he’ll only be 31-years old…
