Those words, coupled with Honda’s behind-the-scenes rejig to bring them back to the front of MotoGP, have caused claims that th🌃ey will try to re-sign Marquez.

The eight-time world champion has penned a one-year deal with Gresini🌞 Ducati so will want to decide his longer-term future by this summer, by which time Honda hope to be in a better position.

Team manager Alberto Puig was asked if Honda’s intention is to bring Marquez back for 2025, an💫d he replied to : “Honda's intention, today, is to improve the motorcycle.

“We have to have a competitive motorcycle again, like we had yearsꦐ ago. 

“That is point num♎ber one, the most important thing. 🗹;

“Then, logﷺically, develop the bike during the winter and race in 2024 and see what bike we have andꦇ what our riders can do with that bike.

“And, from midseason onwards, really see where we areꩵ. 

“That's the only thing I can say now. 

“To think beyond that would be crazy. 

“Priority numbe🅷r one: develop and improve t💃he bike.”

Honda and Yamaha are set to become the beneficiaries of a new c🍷oncessions system this year🐈, but Marquez has feared it could still take two years for his old team to catch up to Ducati.

Pꦓuig responded to that suggestion: “The level is very high. 

“Obviously, the c♊oncessions thing is going to be a great help. ꧅;

“I don't know, if the recovery time was, I don't knoꦚw, let's say a year, with🔯 the concessions you can do it in half, in six months. 

“You need a whole year, at least🌜, to bring a motorcycle to a level, let's say, close. 

“This is going well for you. It i⛄s true that when you lose the thread a little on a technical level, recovering is difficult. 

“That's w♚hy we think that these concessions are going to be good for us and tha꧑t they are going to give us the possibility of shortening the times for this. 

“Whether i𒉰t will be two years, one and a half, one, I don't know. But it's not two 𒉰months, of course.”

Marquez shone at the postseason Valencia test on his Ducati debut, raising expectation that he can immediately challenge for 𒊎th💖e 2024 MotoGP title.

Puig considered whether Marquez can add a ninth championship: “If we limit ourselves to analysing the current reality, the data, 🧔and make a comparison of the riders in Ducati and those who have left other brands for Ducati, and we put his potential as a rider on the other hand, which we know, obviously… he can win.”

The Honda team boss opened up on the emotional separation between Marquez and the man🐽ufacturer.

“It was, honestly, sad, I'm꧅ not goin🌠g to lie to you,” he said. 

“There have been many years, and a lot of succ🃏ess and also many years of a lot of tension and a lot of pain due to the situation, due to the accident. 

“In the end, when you put all that tog🅘ether it is a box full of pressure and super good and bad emotion🔜s.

“Whether you ♛wa𝓡nt it or not, it is hard and it is sad. 

“On the other hand, I also believe that in life we ​​have to keep everything that has been achieved, everything that he has contributed to Honda, what we have learned from him, the human relationships that we have achieved 🦩with him. It's been ✨wonderful.”