Why Honda's arranged marriage with another Marquez had to happen

On paper, the 2019 MotoGP season's final round at Valencia had all the ingredients to be a firecracker finish.

And that was before it turned into an explosion of news, which ignited on the Thursday before the race and continued to crackle more than 24 hours after Marc Marquez had crossed the line as the race winner.

In theory, the announcement that Jorge Lorenzo was retiring paved the way for Johann Zarco to move to Honda, but some careful comments from Marquez - and even from those above him at the Japanese factory - put a surprise name onto the table: Alex Marquez.

Marc's younger brother, and the newly crowned Moto2 champion, had signed to stay with Marc VDS for 2020 some months ago. But the offices in the trucks parked in the paddock at Valencia began to buzz as a frantic game of chess took place inside.

On one hand, Marc insisted that there would be no pressure towards Honda from him to help Alex make the step up to MotoGP, although he did state that he would clearly be happy if it happened.

"I would be lying if I said the idea of racing in MotoGP with and against my brother didn't excite me," he said, on several occasions, after being asked about the possibility.

The #93 rider did not need to make any demands. It was enough to insinuate them for the idea to gain traction at Honda, whose main and almost only priority is to renew terms with the rider who has dominated the premier class over the past decade - winning the title for six of the past seven years.

If Marc came across as reticent when it came to beating the drum for his brother, he was hardly going to be vocal about the colours he'd like him to be wearing or whether or not he'd prefer to have him in the same garage. But this was the moment when the stars began to align for Honda to forge an unprecedented partnership for 2020.

Some people believe that the best place for Alex - given his inexperience - would have been at LCR. But that would have meant robbing Peter to pay Paul.

Cal Crutchlow and Takaaki Nakagami share the garage for the Monaco-based team and Lucio Cecchinello has found a sticker-box formula of sponsors that would have collapsed if either the Brit or the Japanese had been forced to join Honda and make way for the younger Marquez.

The famous Honda colours imply an obligation to grace them accordingly, and only results will ultimately define what kind of rider we are dealing with

All things considered, bringing the MotoGP and Moto2 champions together turned out to be the best solution for all parties - other than for Zarco, who will probably now end up on a Ducati with Avintia.

With next year's grid now 95% confirmed, the arrival of Alex at the strongest team in MotoGP warrants further reflection on the implications.

Aside from the strength of the direct or indirect influence that his brother has had, there can be no doubt that this is the moment for the #73 rider to step up. To do it with the Moto2 title under his arm completely legitimises his arrival at Honda - as Valentino Rossi said last weekend: "We are talking about the Moto2 world champion - it is not as if he has stolen that ride from anybody."

Another season in the intermediate category would have been risky, given the sheer level of the competition and technical parity currently in the class. Winning the championship gives him sufficient credit to step onto a works Honda and nobody could deny it.

That's not to say that the kid can afford to overlook the fact that such a coveted ride carries with it a level of responsibility and pressure that he will have to assume and control, and the best way to do that is with decent results.

Lorenzo's big letdown should not taint any pre-judgements about his replacement, even though his age (23) and lack of experience will require a period of adaptation. Nobody could realistically expect Alex to be fighting for wins straight away.

But at the same time, those famous Honda colours imply an obligation to grace them accordingly, and it will be results - only results - that ultimately define what kind of rider we are dealing with and whether he fits the bill at Honda. In fact, he would be doing himself a huge favour if he could manage those expectations himself.

"Alex has come to the end of his cycle in Moto2 and feels ready for MotoGP, whereas a couple of years ago he still wasn't," said Marc, whose view is shared at Honda.

"When Jorge's 'adios' was brought forward, it was only normal for Alex to be considered as an alternative," Alberto Puig, Honda team manager explained to Autosport.

"The opportunity came up because this kid, who has the inconvenience of being called Marquez, is the Moto2 world champion. If any factory was not considering giving the opportunity to this rider, we would be in a bad state of affairs.

"Also, he is young and Honda want to look to the future. Everything fits and the only coincidence is that he is Marc's brother. Alex is not there 'just because'. Nobody has gifted him anything."

That said, the next question is this: what to expect from the double world champion (Moto3 and Moto2) in 2020?

"I think it is a massive opportunity for him and he has to make the most of it," adds Puig, a former rider who has been linked with Honda since 1993 - in one way or another. "We have to judge him on the level of the category. The results and the learning curve will dictate whether it is a good season or not."

The majority of the paddock are convinced that even Marc Marquez will find it difficult to remain disconnected from his brother's problems

And so to the second question: how will it affect Marc to have his little brother on the other side of the garage?

Those closest to the eight-time world champion are sure that he won't be distracted by Alex's presence in the slightest. However, the majority of the paddock - including the author of this article - are convinced that even Marc will find it difficult to remain disconnected from the problems his brother will surely have in his first season in the premier class, especially on a prototype as tricky as the RC213V.

There are two likely scenarios: one is that the fact it's his brother makes Marc lose some focus on what could work best for the both of them. Or that he - as the person that lives and trains with Alex - can see things in him that others miss.

Given the huge depth of character and level of intellect we are dealing with, the latter scenario certainly can't be ruled out.