Lorenzo Claims Marquez Will Have To Pick Between ‘Very High’ Honda Offer Or ‘Fairly Low’ At Ducati
The future of Marc Marquez is still very much up in the air with speculation persisting that the six-time world champion might end up looking somewhere else when his contract at Honda expires. However, his former team-mate Jorge Lorenzo believes that the decision of Marquez will end up coming down to money and whether he wants more or less depending on the quicker bike.
Six-time MotoGP world champion Marc Marquez will have to pick between a “very high” contract at Honda or a “fairly low” one at Ducati, according to his former team-mate Jorge Lorenzo.
Marquez, 30, has been with Honda since 2013 and has a contract until 2024, but any hopes of a seventh world title seem distant at the moment.
Not only has the Spaniard struggled with injuries but Honda have had a hard time being able to match the pace being set by the Ducati bikes, with Marquez finishing 13th in the standings in the 2022 season.
It has led to speculation that Marquez and his long association with Honda may come to an end as he goes in pursuit of another title.
However Lorenzo, his former team-mate at Honda, believes that the key factor in Marquez’s decision will end up being money.
Marquez signed a lucrative extension with Honda in February 2020, but Lorenzo believes that now the situation has changed, and because Ducati do not need Marquez to win the title, they will low-ball him.
“When you’re the 2019 world champion and they offer you four years for €20m a year with a bike with which you know you can win other World Championships on, it’s hard to say no,” Lorenzo explained to .
“Especially if the other teams offer you five times less.
“I think he made the right choice at the time, but now he’ll have to understand what suits him best: accept an offer from Honda, which will certainly be very high, or focus on a fairly low offer with Ducati.
DUCATI DOESN’T NEED HIM TO WIN, WHILE MARC NEEDS THEM TO DO IT AGAIN.
“This is why Ducati will aim downwards with him, offering nothing compared to the figures we were used to in the past.
“In Borgo Panigale, above all, they make short contracts and with low figures, focusing heavily on bonuses.
“The 10, 15 or 20 million they used to be are no longer seen.”
Marquez has missed the past three rounds due to injury but he is expected to try and return at Le Mans on May 14.
