End of an Era: Repsol Honda’s Departure, Marquez’s Triumph, and Misano GP Insights

The conclusion of the Repsol Honda period raises questions about the future

Key discussions from Misano focus on the conclusion of the Repsol Honda period

Marc Marquez secured his second win of the 2024 season by expertly navigating challenging circumstances to triumph at the San Marino Grand Prix in Misano.

Following a 1043-day stretch without a win, Marquez broke his drought at Aragon. Just a week later, he achieved consecutive victories for the first time since 2021.

This development followed a crash during qualifying by the Gresini racer, resulting in a ninth-place start on the grid. Despite this, the outcome has bolstered his position as a strong championship contender.

Championship frontrunner Jorge Martin experienced a tough Sunday. After a spectacular victory in the sprint race, he made a critical strategic error that significantly impacted his points advantage over the injured Francesco Bagnaia.

Franco Morbidelli made a notable comeback, and Fabio Quartararo delivered an impressive performance for Yamaha.

In other news, Aprilia faced significant challenges at their home event, and Honda’s tough season showed no signs of getting better. Additionally, it was revealed that the iconic collaboration with Repsol will conclude in 2024.

Here are five insights gained from the 2024 San Marino MotoGP.

The conclusion of a significant period

Breaking news 🚨 Repsol has decided not to extend their agreement with Honda after 2024. This marks the conclusion of a significant period ❌#MotoGP #SanMarinoGP pic.twitter.com/xNgA3of0a3— Crash MotoGP (@crash_motogp) September 8, 2024

Breaking news 🚨 Repsol has decided not to extend their agreement with Honda after 2024. This marks the conclusion of a significant period ❌#MotoGP #SanMarinoGP pic.twitter.com/xNgA3of0a3

Honda's performance at the San Marino Grand Prix was unremarkable. Both of the factory team's riders missed Sunday's race because they were unwell. Meanwhile, Johann Zarco, who races for LCR, finished in a disappointing 12th place and expressed that the 2024 bike design "isn't effective".

Following this disappointing performance, Repsol revealed its decision to terminate its title sponsorship with the factory Honda team at the end of the 2024 season.

There have been ongoing rumors about this for some time, especially after HRC unveiled its factory colors for 2024, which showed much less Repsol branding than in the past.

This will mark the conclusion of a collaboration that began in 1995 and has achieved significant success, including several world championships with renowned riders such as Mick Doohan, Valentino Rossi, and Marc Marquez.

The Spanish oil company has stated that it will continue to be involved in motorsports, although the specific nature of its involvement is not yet clear. The timing of this announcement, especially in connection with MotoGP, has led to some speculation.

First of all, it seems unlikely to be a coincidence that this is happening a year after Marquez left Honda.

With MotoGP planning to switch to entirely non-fossil origin fuels by 2027, now appears to be an inopportune moment to leave grand prix racing unless there are intentions to collaborate with a different team or manufacturer beforehand.

Ex-teammates experience uplift

Franco Morbidelli capitalized on his familiarity with the Misano circuit last weekend, leading to one of his most successful weekends in recent memory.

The Pramac rider achieved his inaugural MotoGP win at Misano in 2020, racing for Petronas SRT Yamaha. He has also spent considerable time lapping the track with the VR46 Academy.

Lately, Morbidelli has been demonstrating impressive pace on the Ducati, securing his first front row start since Spain 2021 by qualifying second last weekend. He then turned this achievement into his first podium finish since that race by holding off Bastianini to take third place in the sprint.

Morbidelli applied early pressure on his teammate Martin during the race and remained aggressive when the rain started, believing he had a real chance to win. However, his hopes were dashed when he crashed at Turn 1 at the beginning of the seventh lap. Despite this setback, the experience has boosted his confidence, making him a contender to watch at the upcoming Emilia Romagna Grand Prix in a few weeks.

This also applies to Fabio Quartararo, who used to be part of the Yamaha team. The 2021 world champion looks back on Misano with great affection, as it was the location where he clinched his title three years prior.

Yamaha conducted tests at Misano recently, but Quartararo believes this did not provide any benefit. As a result, he advanced directly to Q2 after Friday's practice sessions, secured the 10th spot in qualifying, finished ninth in the sprint race, and placed seventh in the grand prix based on his performance.

A new frame from Yamaha improved race speed, but it fell slightly short during the qualifying sessions.

Finishing seventh is far from exceptional for a rider of Quartararo's caliber, yet it demonstrated his impressive ability to perform well on a bike that isn't competitive. Considering that his teammate, Alex Rins, only secured 20th place on the starting grid and finished 19th in both races, Quartararo's performance is even more commendable.

Aprilia's struggles persist

Aprilia experienced one of its most challenging weekends of the season in Aragon. The lack of grip on the track severely impacted the performance of the RS-GP, preventing the riders from taking full advantage of the bike's strengths.

It was surprising because Misano, known for its high-grip surface, should have been favorable for the bike.

Throughout the Misano weekend, Aprilia struggled to be competitive. Although Maverick Vinales secured a direct spot in Q2, he only managed to qualify in 11th place. During the grand prix, he finished 16th, hindered by poor grip on medium tires during the wet part of the race, which led him to switch bikes.

Aleix Espargaro, who is on the same team, also followed suit and eventually withdrew from the race. The highest-placed Aprilia rider in that event was Miguel Oliveira, who finished 11th on the Trackhouse-operated RS-GP, but he was 46.3 seconds behind the winner.

The most significant problem facing Aprilia in their recent races is the lack of understanding regarding their poor performance. Despite racing on two distinct tracks with varying grip levels, the results were similarly disappointing. This comes after a period where the bike's inability to maintain tire condition has caused the riders to lose ground over the course of grand prix distances.

If Aprilia doesn't identify solutions to its issues during today's post-race test on September 9th, the upcoming race at Misano could be a tough one for them, making for a disheartening Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.

Marquez's Courageous Performance Turns Back Time

Marquez sought to manage expectations of an immediate surge in victories after his commanding performance at the Aragon Grand Prix. He justifiably noted that the track conditions in Spain throughout the weekend were so unusual that they didn't accurately represent his true standing in the competitive hierarchy.

Arriving at Misano, his goal was to begin with the same confidence on the bike that he had at the end of the Austrian GP. He achieved this, demonstrating impressive speed during Friday's practice, which suggested he could contend for another podium finish.

An accident in the second qualifying session placed him in ninth position on the starting grid, seemingly ruining his weekend. In the sprint race, he managed to climb to fifth place only after a bold move on the final lap to overtake Pedro Acosta from Tech3. This performance was a stark contrast to his impressive charges through the field at Le Mans and Barcelona earlier in the season, where he had secured podium finishes.

Anticipation of a challenging grand prix was high, yet the uncertain weather turned out to be advantageous for him. He skillfully managed a short downpour, advancing from five seconds behind Bagnaia in fifth place to leading the Italian by laps six to eight.

From that point, he controlled the race to maintain a lead over Bagnaia, setting the fastest lap of the race on the 20th of 27 laps to shatter the factory Ducati rider's determination. Marquez was particularly impressed by this late-race speed as he celebrated his second consecutive grand prix win.

While the conditions were in his favor, it was evident from the start that he had the pace to lead the pack, and it truly seems that the Marquez we knew before his injury is back.

"I feel like I can move more freely with my body and interact better with the bike," he remarked. "There are still some areas where I need improvement, such as Turn 11 and 12 where Pecco excels; we need to figure that out by next weekend. I may not surpass him in speed, but getting closer would be good. There are still aspects to learn, but having confidence allows you to use your body more effectively and increase your speed."

Martin's tactical mistake gives Bagnaia a break

Despite not being in peak condition after his incident with Alex Marquez at Aragon the previous week, Bagnaia still led Friday's practice, demonstrated impressive race speed, and broke a lap record to secure pole position in qualifying for his home event.

He made a poor start in the sprint, which gave Martin the opportunity to jump from fourth place on the grid to take the lead at the first corner. Martin maintained his lead throughout the sprint, with the turbulence from the Pramac Ducati preventing an "angry" Bagnaia from overtaking.

Martin extended his advantage to 26 points ahead of Bagnaia, intensifying the challenges of a difficult weekend in Aragon. Although Bagnaia had a strong start in the grand prix, Martin quickly put pressure on him before the rain began.

After extensive training sessions at Misano with the VR46 Academy, Bagnaia is extremely familiar with the circuit and can easily determine when the track conditions are wet enough to warrant a tyre change. Both he and his Ducati teammate, Enea Bastianini, who also frequently rides at this track, observed that they could "sense" it wasn't the right time yet.

During the seventh lap, as the rain intensified, Martin was in second place and decided to switch to his bike suited for wet conditions. Along with him, five other riders made the same choice, necessitating another trip through the pit lane later to revert to their bikes designed for dry weather.

The Pramac racer later clarified that he made a risky decision that didn't work out. He believed the rain was severe enough to justify switching, and seeing his teammate Franco Morbidelli crash behind him likely shook him up a bit.

Martin finished in a lapped 15th place, securing a single point. However, in a closely contested championship, going against your main competitor's strategy is ill-advised. This isn't Martin's first misstep; he previously lost a race in Australia last year due to an opposing tyre strategy after leading for a significant portion.

Bagnaia has been granted a second chance after a mistake at Misano, narrowing the championship gap to just seven points. With another race at Misano scheduled for later this month and Bagnaia expected to be in top form, Martin might struggle to maintain his lead in the championship.

With Marquez now trailing Martin by just 53 points, both the Pramac rider and Bagnaia are feeling increased pressure as they head into the last seven rounds of the season.

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