Eight-time Grand Prix World Champion Marc Marquez says he knows where he will be racing for the 2024 MotoGP World Championship as he cryptically declined to attach himself entirely to Repsol Honda.

Though the Spaniard still has a year remaining on his five-year contract with Honda, Marquez has been the subject of rumours regarding a potential early exit in favour of a switch to a rival manufacturer.

For now Marquez is giving very little away, but says his plans for 2024 have been defined before adding that ‘someone will get it right’ in reference to the different teams he has been linked with.

“I know where I will be racing in 2024,” he told Spanish broadcasters DAZN. “As of today, I have a contract with Honda, but they have put my name on all the bikes. Someone will get it right, won't they?

"Of course, there have been calls. When you notice that someone is in a difficult moment and you bet on them, there are calls, of course. 

“Whether they were from one or the other, whether one rejected or not, out of respect for all the brands, I won't say who, how, or how it happened. But there have been contacts, obviously.”

Could - and should - Marc Marquez leave Honda?

While Marquez is probably correct in saying he has been linked to each of the four manufacturers outside of Honda this summer, with KTM barred from entering a third team for 2024, the only remaining option is at Ducati.

The fact that Marquez could be considering a switch to a rival satellite team is a sure sign of the times. Indeed, it’s not long ago that he’d wouldn’t have bothered entertaining the notion of joining another manufacturer, let alone leave for anything other than a factory team.

However, the two seats available at Ducati - one on-spec GP24 at Pramac and a year-old GP23 at Gresini - are no wooden spoons and few are doubting Marquez would be very quick on either machine.

Trouble is, what do Marquez or Ducati have to gain from joining forces? Ducati has one, two, maybe three or four would-be champions in its line-up, plus room to nurture some more for the future.

Marquez is a question mark physically and even if he was back to his best, would Ducati really want him defeating Pecco Bagnaia on a Pramac bike? 

However, that is exactly what Marquez would need to do to assure his reputation in MotoGP or risk wilting as a rider considered past his best. Plus, the carrot dangled by Ducati when it used to approach Marquez to join on an annual basis - the chance to lead the Italian firm to a new era of success - has already been chomped down on by Bagnaia.

Indeed, a move to KTM would have made more sense as a manufacturer yet to win a MotoGP title, but since Dorna’s computer said no, it leaves the Austrian firm with more riders than seats now.

So, all signs point towards continuing with Honda, which right now does not actually seem like that wooden spoon. Marquez is best placed to judge whether Honda is on the cusp of becoming great again, though his distracted, languid demeanour since the summer break doesn’t exactly demonstrate a man counting down the days until 2024 right now.

Indeed, even the most optimistic person will be surprised just how lengthy this slump in form at Honda has become, while the rhetoric between events doesn’t sound terribly encouraging.

But, Honda has a ‘win at all costs’ attitude and the resources to bounce right back to the top, so if it does happen upon a breakthrough, you won’t find a rider more motivated to be the one to get them there than Marquez…