Marquez shares details of key talks: “Honda didn’t apologise, I don’t expect it”

• German MotoGP, Sachsenring - Friday Practice Results

Marquez, Honda’s second-in-command Shinji Aoyama, and HRC president Koji Watanabe held a private meeting at Mugello, reacting to the MotoGP’s team dreadful weekend.

The star Repsol Honda rider has arrived for the German MotoGP buoyed by the discussions - although he is demanding action.

“They have not apologised to me and I do not expect them to either,” Marquez told AS.

“Because nobody wants to do a bad project.

“Sometimes it will turn out better and other times worse, but it is true that we have been stagnant for a few years. 

“They are aware that there is a problem and hopefully we will find the solution. A solution as soon as possible.”

Marquez’s newfound optimism comes from the fact that the Honda bosses took time to listen to his problems.

“We had an important meeting, not for the present, but for the immediate future,” he said. 

“Now to work for next year. I think the meeting was productive and I am grateful that a big boss from Honda and HRC proposed the meeting, sat down with me and are interested in how to improve the project. 

“The meeting went very well and the only thing missing is practice.”

Can anything be done to salvage the 2023 bike?

“No,” Marquez said. “This year is what there is and that's it. 

“We are trying to improve, but next year is not created from one day to the next. 

“It is created from this year and they know that I am willing to try things during a weekend, although with this new format it is not ideal. 

“But above all it is good that the president and vice president know first-hand what is happening, come to the circuit and see what is happening. 

“Because sometimes you don't know what comes to them. 

“So for my part, delighted to have told them first-hand my feelings.”

Marquez had previously said that his faith in Honda also stems from their current success in F1, where they provide the engines for Red Bull’s dominant cars.

He now insists that he isn’t worried Honda are more focused on four wheels rather than two.

“I have never felt that they have not opted for motorcycles,” he said. 

“In fact, the commitment of the brand is the same since I joined ten years ago. 

“I see them bringing little things that sometimes work and other times don't. 

“I don't see that they don't show interest, otherwise the vice president of Honda Motor wouldn't come, and the president of HRC is always behind everything. 

“Since last year the car and motorcycle departments have joined forces and hopefully that can help us in the project.”

Marquez emerging pleased from last weekend’s meeting can only bode well for his much-discussed long-term future.

He is contracted on a big-money deal until the end of 2024, but his plans beyond that could depend on the competitiveness of the bikes on offer.

“The strongest rider is the one who wins and now I'm not winning,” he said. 

“I still feel fast, competitive, but I am 100% committed to the current project and looking to the future I will try to find the best sports project, which will be a winning project, and hopefully it will be with Honda.”

MotoGP champion Francesco Bagnaia labelled Marquez as the favourite for the German MotoGP at the Sachsenring, a circuit where he has won nine times in the premier class.

“Not favourite, because we didn't arrive at the best moment, but it is a circuit that brings back good memories and I will try to fight to be on the podium. That is the goal,” he said.

“It would be good news for the team, for the entire project, but the situation does not change from one day to the next.”