The six-time premier class champion left Honda to sign a one-year contract with Gresini Racing, and hence is a free agent again at season’s end, as it stands.

Marquez had left open the door to return to Honda, a prospect which seems highly unlikely considering how it performed in Round 1 in Qatar, let alone compared to Gresini.

The factory team of Ducati is a more realistic outcome, notwithstanding that it played no part in his move to Gresini, although it has already re-signed back-to-back champion Francesco Bagnaia.

Furthermore, it would need to promote Jorge Martin from Pramac Racing to the Ducati Team seat currently occupied by Enea Bastianini in order to prevent the ‘Martinator’ defecting to another manufacturer.

That is where KTM comes into the mix, considering it was widely regarded as next-best in the MotoGP pecking order, a position firmed up by Brad Binder’s second places in both the Sprint and Grand Prix race at Lusail in recent days.

Guidotti, however, downplayed the possibility in comments to Sky Sport Italia following the Qatar GP.

“We already start with an advantage on the decisions to be made because we already have Pedro [Acosta],” he began.

“As for Marc, I don’t hide the fact I would like him,” laughed Guidotti.

“Having both of them would be a big deal. But [Marquez] he did very well with Ducati and it seems strange to me that he would like to change three bikes in three years only because of his age.

“I think he will play his cards with the bike he has and for the future.”

Acosta has been hyped up in some quarters as the ‘next Marc Marquez’ and his MotoGP debut at Lusail suggested that such an opinion is not hyperbolic.

So desperate was KTM to promote the 19-year-old to MotoGP, and thus prevent him from being poached, it ended up with five contracted riders for four seats in 2024, a problem which was solved by demoting Pol Espargaro to reserve status.

Concurrently, there had/has been speculation that the Pierer Mobility Group, KTM’s parent, could buy another team or otherwise engage one of the satellite squads and run it as the MV Agusta or Husqvarna effort.

That would be akin to how Tech3 is branded as the factory GasGas outfit, which currently fields Acosta.

It is a move which would create two extra berths in the broader KTM stable, one of which could be handed to Marquez and another to, say, one of its current Moto2 riders.

However, KTM Motorsports Director Pit Beirer had stated during pre-season that it was willing to go around with the same four riders in 2025, unless it gained access to another team.

“Let’s hope our boys stay healthy and perform like we all wish, and then maybe it’s not even that stressful [like last year] because we stick to the four boys like we have now,” he said.

“I don’t feel the same pressure coming up right now like we had with Pedro, that a guy is just jumping through the disciplines as crazy, knocking on the door one or two years earlier than we expected some time ago.

“So, I feel for the moment we have a great package of four riders, and we can now watch a bit carefully what’s going on in the market.

“I can promise you one thing; I will not sign rider number five unless we have a third team or one of the boys wants to leave us.

“[Last year] we brought ourselves in this uncomfortable situation but also, all of you guys followed quite closely why and what and everything that’s been said around this topic.

“Of, course it gave us a crazy headache and I don’t want to go through this scenario [again], to be honest.

“I feel at the moment we’re not in the front row to make big changes, because we believe in the riders we have.”

Jack Miller, who is off-contract this year, would therefore be safe in terms of the broader KTM line-up, although Beirer’s comments do not necessarily rule out the prospect of shifting the Queenslander to GasGas Tech3 in a swap with Acosta.

Binder, meanwhile, is already contracted through 2026.