Aleix Espargaró’s retirement announcement was the center of attention at the media day of the Catalan Grand Prix, and all the drivers, especially the Spaniard, were happy that he was retiring on his own terms, considering the farewell that would come at the end of the current campaign. A personal decision, and a great moment in his career. And Marc Márquez even allowed himself to joke about what was to come: “He is a veteran in the category and now it’s my turn to take the baton”.

“Obviously, I congratulate him on his sports career because it is a sports career that knows how to suffer and endure suffering. He has seen himself at home without a bike, he has seen himself changing drivers, he has seen himself developing projects and although there were very talented riders here, I want to highlight his work, his commitment and above all the decision that he was not missing at home. Congratulations to the 35-year-old.”

And when asked about the Aprilia, which Aleix Espargaro left for free, he said, “The European bikes are good, but for me the best bike is Ducati, so I chose Ducati. It’s still the best, Aprilia and KTM.” Maverick has proven he can win races with an Aprilia.

And the key for the weekend is Marc, who has been fighting for wins and podiums in the last two Grands Prix, playing at home with grandstands for the Marc Marquez and Alex Marquez fan clubs. He’s had wins and plenty of podiums. But he continues to be cautious, which is a sign that he’s going to go out and fight hard.

“If we win here, it means we are very, very, very good. I have only won here in the best two years, in 2014 and 2019. This year I think we are good, but we are not as good as those two years, so this is always one of those circuits that is a bit more expensive for me and a bit more stifling. But I want to try and see what happens with this Ducati, see where we are and what happens. We can choose during the weekend.”

Except for 2015, he has always been on the podium, but “Yes, it helps because I have the support of the fans, but I don’t know if it was in 2018, I fell four times, five times in one weekend, this is one of those circuits where you have to work a lot more than the others, I always work hard, but I put more effort into changing my riding style, working on the bike and working on being good, I’m ready for this weekend, but in MotoGP right now, you’re two tenths off and before you know it, you’re out of Q2 and your whole weekend has already changed.”

The three riders, including him, were aware of Ducati’s decision to partner Pecco Bagnaia and, in fact, all three were the protagonists of the first media day press conference with the champion. There is nothing new at this point.

“My situation has changed a bit compared to last year. This year I wanted to have fun and get my senses back. Step by step I am getting competitive again. I want to fight for the championship, but if something makes your life easier… I already know how to be fast. They were already fighting for the title last year.

“The most important thing Ducati has given me is motivation: to keep believing in my ability to go fast, to keep believing in myself and to keep enjoying what I’m passionate about in this world – motorbikes. Then, whether you win or not, everyone loses and one wins, but knowing that you have given your best professionally, on and off the court, and being able to compete with the best, is different.”

They ask him about a startling fact: He’s seven points away from his 2023 total.

“I’m not going to bleed on that front. With all my respect to Honda and everything they’ve given me in my sports career, I wish them all the best, I don’t want to see them get into that situation. Like I said, a driver’s sports career is several years and you have to make the most of it all. In my sports career I’ve had bad luck the last four years with arm injuries. I couldn’t afford to lose any more years, especially. This year I took a risk and took on a project in the sense of exposing myself to what people want. So far it’s going well for me.