Marc Marquez confirms Repsol Honda switch

Marc Marquez will take the place of reigning world champion Casey Stoner in Honda’s official factory next season.

As has been widely predicted since Aussie Stoner announced he will retire at the end of 2012 in Le Mans, Marquez will move to the Repsol Honda squad and partner fellow Spaniard Dani Pedrosa.

The 2010 125GP world champion and current leader of the Moto2 world championship is the first high profile rookie to move into a factory team since Jorge Lorenzo joined Yamaha in 2008.

It became obvious that HRC had eyes on moving Marquez up from the 600cc four-stroke Moto2 class when the Japanese factory began campaigning to get the rookie rule scrapped as early as the first race in Qatar back in early April.

Previously Marquez was barred from moving straight into a factory team by the rookie rule, which was introduced in 2010 Marquez has won 21 races and is currently leading the Moto2 world championship by 43-points despite missing almost the entire winter testing campaign.

Marquez was forced to miss a large portion of winter testing with the serious right eye injury he suffered in a practice crash for last October’s Malaysian Grand Prix at Sepang.

Marquez said: “To reach MotoGP next season with Repsol Honda is a dream come true and I want to thank HRC for their confidence in me.

“I am very proud to be a part of the big Honda family for the future and I don’t want to forget all the people have helped me since I began to ride motorbikes.

“Now my focus is on Moto2 where my team and I are working very hard and we are excited to achieve our goal, which is to win the World Championship in 2012.”

Marquez will partner long-serving official HRC rider Dani Pedrosa in the Repsol squad next season. Pedrosa’s new two-year deal was confirmed as part of Honda’s announcement this morning on the eve of the Italian Grand Prix in Mugello.