Marquez is out at Honda
Espargaro gets 2021 Repsol call up as Alex Marquez is dropped before first race
Alex gets the boot in favour of Pol Espargaro
Racing in MotoGP may have been brought to a standstill by Covid-19, but the 2021 premier class rumour mill clicked into overdrive last week. Dominating the gossip columns is the shock news that Repsol Honda will prise Pol Espargaro away from KTM’s factory project to partner reigning World Champion Marc Marquez in 2021 and 2022. HRC had not made a formal announcement when MCN went to press on Monday, but multiple sources say the surprise deal for a rider with just one podium in 104 MotoGP races is done.
A telling sign came pre-weekend when Repsol Honda team boss Alberto Puig denied a deal had been agreed. But the Spaniard, famous for his no-nonsense approach, crucially didn’t deny Espargaro was a prime target. While perfectly happy at Red Bull KTM, Espargaro believes a dream move to Repsol Honda is one he simply can’t reject as it gives him the best chance of fulfilling his ambition of winning races and being a title contender in MotoGP. Speaking on Spanish TV recently, Espargaro was asked about rumours linking him with a seat alongside Marquez. He said: “All riders, from the first to the last, dream of being World Champion and they are there to improve their situation, to get a better bike and to fight for the title. It’s my only obsession. I train every day not to win races but to win the MotoGP world title. After all I’ve given, I believe that I deserve it and I believe that I’ve worked enough to get it, and that’s why I keep fighting. The Honda is quite an aggressive bike, that could be adapted quite well to my riding style. I think Marc and I ride in a similar way, with the weight really off the bike. That helps the bike, even if the steering moves or closes, you can save those falls. We have pretty similar riding styles.” Espargaro’s signing has huge ramifications for the 2021 grid, and not least inside Honda’s own stable. The deal means Alex Marquez finds himself in the somewhat unique position of being axed by Repsol Honda without even racing a lap for the most successful team in MotoGP history.
How that will sit with Marc Marquez, who signed an unprecedented four-year deal with HRC in February, remains to be seen. But the blow will be softened by the younger Marquez being offered a factory-backed RC213V in the LCR squad.
That in turn puts both Cal Crutchlow and Takaaki Nakagami in a vulnerable position with both fighting it out of for just one place. Espargaro’s departure is undoubtedly a huge blow for KTM. Already reeling from losing highly rated Moto2 star Jorge Martin to Pramac Ducati, Espargaro has been the cornerstone of the RC16 project since its inception in 2017. KTM may now raid their independent team run by Herve Poncharal’s Tech 3 Racing to get Miguel Oliveira to race alongside Brad Binder next season.
But there are host of names being linked with KTM, including Crutchlow, Danilo Petrucci and Pecco Bagnaia.
Petrucci has come into the picture after confirming he is out of Ducati’s factory squad following the signing of Aussie Jack Miller. That means Andrea Dovizioso, who himself has been linked with KTM, is staying at Ducati, although he has not yet put pen to paper. Petrucci is certainly not lacking options, with Aprilia leading the chase for his signature should Andrea Iannone’s appeal against an 18-month doping ban fail.
He also has interest from Ducati and Honda for factory seats in World Superbikes and the 2019 Mugello winner spoke about his future on Italian TV at the weekend where he made it clear his first choice is to sign to ride Aprilia’s much-improved RS-GP but was also keen on a KTM deal: “Aprilia has a new bike which was fast right away and this is something rarely seen. In the tests they went very fast. So, I would like to go with Aprilia. I would also like to go with KTM, because they too have been growing.”