Marquez recommends Lorenzo to Honda to stop Ducati’s dominance

mark marquez have revealed that they have offered Jorge Lorenzo to Honda for the 2019 MotoGP season in a bid to fend off the growing threat from Ducati.

Lorenzo, the only rider to win the title by defeating Marquez during the 2010 purple patch, joined Ducati in 2017 after parting ways with his long-term employer Yamaha.

But before he could fully embrace the Desmosedici and start winning Grand Prix in his second season in 2018, Ducati had already decided not to renew his contract for the following year.

However, Lorenzo’s arrival at Ducati raised alarm bells for compatriot Márquez, who could sense that the Italian manufacturer was starting its work in MotoGP.

That’s why he talked Honda into bringing the three-time premier class champion on board for 2019, knowing Ducati had the potential to end the Japanese marque’s hegemony with a rider of Lorenzo’s caliber.

“When Lorenzo was already at the Ducati, I said to (Honda): ‘They have arrived’,” Marquez said in the Spanish documentary. La vida en rojo.

“I say (to Honda) that the best strategy is to take Lorenzo and keep him here. If not, another rider from another brand will beat you, because Lorenzo is a five-time world champion. “

Lorenzo joined Ducati at a time when it was returning to winning ways in MotoGP under the guidance of new technical chief Gigi Dall’Igna.

But like his former Yamaha team-mate and arch rival valentino rossiThe Spaniard also initially struggled to get a grip on the bike in the first year.

He won three races in his sophomore campaign with Ducati, including back-to-back wins at Mugello and Barcelona, ​​giving a glimpse of what they could have achieved together had the partnership continued in 2019.

But by this point, Ducati had already decided to promote Danilo Petrucci From Pramac, Lorenzo makes a shock deal with Honda to replace the retiree dani pedrosa,

Recalling his time with Ducati, Lorenzo said: “I had an idea. What happened was that maybe I thought the adaptation would be quick.

“It was a bike that went fast on a straight line, was very stable under braking, but it didn’t have the turn like a Yamaha. Basically, I wanted to ride a Ducati like a Yamaha.

“I thought I’d have a better start to 2018, but it was the opposite. Also, I had the misfortune of that triple crash in Jerez, and had to take out title contender Dovizioso with Marquez, and that’s what happened.’ This will make Ducati very happy too.

“When I saw I was between a rock and a hard place, I picked up the phone and called (Honda boss) Alberto Puig straight away.”

After one season as Márquez’s teammate at Honda in 2019, Lorenzo retired from his career as a professional rider.