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The divorce between Marc Marquez and Honda is now a done deal, but the announcement of his move to Ducati in Team Gresini is still missing.
There are not many riders in the premier class who have made the big leap; indeed as recalled by Nick Harris, for a long time Dorna’s benchmark journalist, but before that a long-standing colleague who also held the role of Rothmans Honda team PR, there are only five: Geoff Duke, Giacomo Agostini, Eddie Lawson, Valentino Rossi and Casey Stoner.
Marquez joins this small group with the declared intention of retracing the same path.
Duke switched to Gilera in 1953 after winning the 500cc world title in 1951 with Norton. The combination went on to dominate the championship for three consecutive years. In 1972 Ago won his last 500cc championship with MV Agusta and in 1974 he moved to Yamaha.
As Agostini recently confessed to us, his decision was determined by the arrival and consequent rise of 2-stroke engines in the world championship, with the three- and four-cylinder 4-stroke MV destined to rapidly become obsolete. Mino was the first to win a 500 title with a two-stroke engine. It was his last title, his 15th.
While Agostini's decision was shocking, no less so was that of Eddie Lawson who, after his third title with Yamaha, in 1988, left for Honda after some disagreements with Agostini who was not willing to increase his salary.
Nick Harris was Rothman Honda’s PR at the time and knew everything well in advance, but kept his mouth shut. However, we intercepted the news and called Leo De Graffenried, then head of Phillip Morris, while the Swiss manager was in California at Laguna Seca with Eddie during a Yamaha event!
Awesome Lawson with Erv Kanemoto's team managed to win his fourth title by defeating the 1987 world champion, Wayne Gardner.
The fourth MotoGP world champion to make the big leap was, of course, Valentino Rossi who announced his divorce from Honda in Valencia at the last race of the season, in 2003, then won the inaugural battle of 2004 with Yamaha in South Africa, beating Max Biaggi.
The last of the 'Fantastic 5' to win after changing brands was obviously Casey Stoner who left Ducati at the end of 2010, after having won the title with the Italian manufacturer in 2007. In 2011 he won his second and last title, to then retire two years later.
Today many are wondering what Marquez's plans are, given that he appears to have only signed a one-year contract. For the record it is worth remembering that Lawson did it too. To then return to Yamaha in 1990.
Unfortunately for him the season didn't go very well, after being the victim of an accident in the year of the first title of his then teammate, Wayne Rainey. Eddie confessed that returning to the Yamaha team then run by Kenny Roberts was "like returning to my old office to find that my desk had been occupied."
