• Intrahistoria: The decision that ended Jorge Lorenzo's career

There was confusion in Cheste among Repsol Honda members. " Jorge retires, " one of them released on Thursday at 10 am and the rest continued with his own because they had heard that rumor many times and it had never been true before. In Sepang , without going too far, there was a press call from Lorenzo that was canceled in a few minutes. When everyone discovered that this time the withdrawal was official there was confusion. No one had told them anything, nobody was notified . Marc Márquez himself acknowledged that Lorenzo's announcement caught him by surprise and those around him wondered to what extent even the bosses knew. When did Lorenzo inform Honda leaders? Only they know, because on Thursday the pilot said he had decided on Sepang, but last week at the Milan Motor Show he proclaimed that his intention was to continue next season. In any case, his departure was sudden and that is why the name of his substitute will take a while to meet. In the Valencia tests that start on Monday you will not know and it is possible that it will not be known in the Jerez tests of November 25 and 26.

Crutchlow, Márquez or Zarco

Honda now has a lot to value: it has before it a low risk option, an intermediate risk option and a high risk option. The more danger more chances of success, but at the same time more options of failure. The Japanese factory is in a delicate moment.

After all that was lived with Jorge Lorenzo, he could opt for the less risky option: the 'Dani Pedrosa route'. With the certainty that Marc Márquez will continue to dominate the MotoGP World Championship in the coming years, one possibility is simply to help him with a veteran rider, who already knows the house and who, in addition, already has a signed contract. That is to ascend to Cal Crutchlow of the satellite equipment. That decision would leave an empty spot in the second set of Honda to be able to bet on a young driver for 2021 and also ensure a few podiums and perhaps one or two victories during the season. It would be the most sensible resolution and even it could fit Takaaki Nakagami , the other satellite pilot, with the benefit of being Japanese and the disadvantage of its worst results on Crutchlow. In the team they see it as a temporary solution, but unlikely due to the nature of the sports director, Alberto Puig.

As Lorenzo already showed, Puig does not fear the risks and that is why it is easier for him to opt for one of the other two solutions. The intermediate is to keep Johann Zarco one more year. The Frenchman, who started the season with KTM and ended badly, was hired for the last three races of this course and his performance has been remarkable for the moment. In his debut in Phillip Island he finished thirteenth and in Sepang he entered directly to Q2 and fought to be in the top 10 until he was struck down by Joan Mir. With its two Moto2 World Cups and its excellent performance with the Yamaha satellite in 2017 and 2018, with the official Honda it could even be a runner-up candidate, although it could also be twisted. According to former teammates, if things are not going well it is complicated to work with him and the last thing Honda needs is more controversial.

That is why it could be launched to the option with the highest risk, the most dangerous, and at the same time the one with the most potential: sign Álex Márquez . On the same Thursday all parties, Puig, Márquez and his brother Marc recognized the opportunity, but also had to accept the dangers. Beyond the contract that the little one of the Márquez has signed with the Marc VDS team to continue running in Moto2 in 2020, the maximum obstacle to their hiring is the insecurity that it generates: it could burn in just one year. As he already demonstrated in Moto2, Alex has a hard time adapting to a new motorcycle and the Honda, so aggressive, does not fit his mathematical driving. With the pressure of being on the same team as his brother Marc and the many victories he will get, Alex's adventure in MotoGP could blacken just at the beginning, at age 23, although if the adventure went well the current Moto2 champion It could be a MotoGP title candidate. In full negotiation with Marc Márquez to renew his contract until 2022, Puig and the Japanese leaders of Honda have before them a crude dilemma.

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