Marc Marquez signs new two-year HRC deal

Reigning MotoGP world champion Marc Marquez will remain with Honda until the end of 2016, the Japanese factory has confirmed this morning.

The Spaniard, who is undefeated in four races so far in 2014, has penned a new two-year contract to keep him on a factory RC213V.

Marquez, who claimed a historic maiden premier class world title as a rookie last season, is the first of the big names in MotoGP to confirm his future plans.

The 21-year-old, who has become racing’s hottest property with a series of dominant wins coming from an aggressive and spectacular riding style, said: “I am very happy to announce my renewal with HRC. I had always dreamt about being part of the Repsol Honda Team, and thanks to Honda the dream came true a year and a half ago. Everything happened very quickly last season, and I would have never imagined that I could achieve what we did. Becoming World Champion during my first season was another dream turned into reality. It is a great honour to be a part of the Honda family and I’m glad to remain with this special group of people for another two seasons.”

HRC boss Shuhei Nakamoto added: “We are very satisfied to have reached an agreement to keep Marc in the team for a further two seasons. Of course as Honda we wanted to keep Marc in our family and he also wanted to stay with us so it was natural to renew the contract even if it is very early in the season. He is enjoying a fantastic start to 2014 and even though he is still learning, his ability to absorb information and adapt to the machine is remarkable.”

Marquez has won 10 races for Honda in 22 appearances and he has only finished off the podium twice since moving to MotoGP as Moto2 world champion last season.

He will be looking to continue his unbeaten start to the current campaign when his title bid continues in Le Mans this weekend at the French Grand Prix.