There has always been a natural leader within every garage in MotoGP. Marc Márquez has been tasked with fulfilling that role for the past 10 years at Honda and Fabio Quartararo, He has been doing it in the official Yamaha team since 2021. Both have had time to proclaim themselves champions, with much longer success in the case of the ilerdense and both, they have shared suffering in a 2022 where their mounts have been in a clear inferiority with respect to the level of the pilot. The two Japanese motorcycles have climbed to the podium and even, in the case of the brand of the tuning forks, They have tasted victory. But the reality I should have lagged them much further on Sundays.
Both Márquez and Quartararo have been the only riders capable of making their mounts shine. The Frenchman has fought for the title with dignity until the end despite all the shortcomings of the M1 and facing 2023, by level, both they start again as the great favorites of the maximum displacement. Who would I bet on? Livio Suppo? “That’s a hard question”, begins by saying the team manager of Suzuki until the departure of the team, in Mow Mag, before analyzing the situation of both in the last year. To begin with, it places them as “two of the strongest pilots” from the grid and talks about the reality they are going through: “On paper they will have to fight with their motorcycle and it is a shame for the World Championship”.
That is the most anticipated scenario despite “taking many years” asking for a reaction. The preseason appetizer that took place in Valencia did not show any change in trend, at least for the moment, by Honda and Yamaha. And Suppo remembers that Fabio already warned the factory about the tuning forks about a possible march. In fact, the Italian goes further and reveals that “Quartararo would have come to Suzuki very willingly. It would have been fun.” The champion was not going to bluff when he issued an ultimatum that also fell inside the garage of the golden wing mark. Marc “now he’s in a hurry” and will seek to be champion again within HRC or outside of it. Because the important thing is to fight realistically for the title.
The ilerdense signed the longest contract in history with Honda, joining the team until 2024. At that time “he will be 31 years old and will not have that much time ahead of him to try to win again,” recalls Suppo, about the situation he is going through a pilot who “He has lost some faith in Honda.” The fact that he got off the bike so soon in Valencia is the clearest symptom of this for the Italian coach and about what is to come in that expected battle between Márquez and Quartararo, everything “will depend on how much they manage to improve the bike in the respective racing departments”. To begin with, both start from the same base: “They’re pretty fed up with their situation.”
there may be some surprise
With the expectation of seeing how all that tension is finally resolved through the work that is done in the factories during the winter, with a good development it would not be surprising that both Márquez and Quartararo fight realistically to recover their hegemony. In fact, they won’t even need the best bike to do it. Seeing them dominating would not be surprising, but can any driver surprise next year? Yeah, and if Suppo “had to bet money, I would do it for Maverick.” Despite the fact that Aprilia is another of the brands that has stagnated in development, the Italian trusts in a pairing “that will surprise us”: “Maverick will work again with Manuel Cazeaux. Manu is one of the best team leaders in the paddock and he has terrifying chemistry with Viñales.”
