I can’t relate much to Alex Marquez. Especially in one key attribute of his life. He’s a younger brother. I’m the eldest of three. I can’t even begin to imagine being that person when your older brother is Marc Marquez, a man who Alex has seen mature as arguably the greatest raw talent this sport has ever seen. How are you supposed to make your own mark when that standard is almost impossible to match?
Alex made his Grand Prix debut in 2012. By then, Marc had already won a 125cc World Title and was about to win a Moto2 title at 19. In his final race in the class, he won from the back of the grid in the pouring rain in Valencia, with the MotoGP world shaking about what was about to be unleashed.
A year later, Marc made history and took just about every “youngest” record in the book away, and won the World Championship as a rookie, aged just 20. Alex had the best seat in the house, but on the outside looking in on the greatest Moto3 title fight of all-time between Maverick Vinales, Alex Rins and the late Luis Salom. Even when Alex took that step forward in 2014, surpassing Rins and beating upstart Jack Miller to the Moto3 title, it was the Australian who took the headlines with an unprecedented double class jump into MotoGP.
Five years of grinding in Moto2 came after, arguably the toughest motorbike series on earth to win. Where half a second costs you three rows. Marquez was roadblocked by two of the greatest Intermediate Champions ever in Tito Rabat and Johann Zarco, and the family nemesis – The VR46 academy producing its two greatest graduates – Franco Morbidelli and Francesco Bagnaia.
Times were weird. In Year 5 of his Moto2 career, and a quick adapter to the new Triumphs, I remember watching TNT Sports and seeing lead commentator Keith Huewen talk down Marquez’s hopes in the top flight despite leading the Championship at the time. Didn’t help he clung onto win the title despite a rampant Brad Binder down the stretch, winning the final race races to just miss out by three points. Alex Marquez at this point is the only rider in history with a Moto3 and a Moto2 World Title and he feels like an afterthought.
Across the family table, Marc had already established his legacy. He won six out of the seven MotoGP World titles he’d entered, survived a deeply personal and nasty feud with Valentino Rossi (Of which the latter party is still bitter about a decade later), and put together two of the greatest seasons ever seen in the sport. A 13-win 2014 including 10-in-a-row to start the year, and a 12-win 2019 where he treated third place like the floor was lava.
Then, a lucky break. Jorge Lorenzo, Honda’s star acquisition after two difficult years at Ducati, semi-retires due to a broken back at Assen and a bike that’s growing suspiciously into a death trap that only Marc can ride. Alex, like his big brother, gets a Honda factory gig on debut.
…He immediately gets demoted to the LCR customer team for 2021 before he’s even rode a race, because Alberto Puig insisted that Pol Espargaro was a can’t miss talent. I love Pol as much as the next man, but talk about breaking the confidence of your new rider before he’s even turned a wheel in anger. Great team management.
Alex had a couple of headline moments, back-to-back runner-up finishes at Le Mans and Aragon. The former, losing to “Rain Gawd” Danilo Petrucci, the latter a brilliant fight with old rival Alex Rins, but like every Honda newcomer since big brother arrived since 2017, he struggles. After two more horrible years in LCR colours, Alex’s career is hanging by a thread. And in a cruel twist of fate both literally and metaphorically, so is big brother Marc after three failed surgeries on a broken arm he rushed back from injury too soon with.
He’s saved by Nadia Padovani and her plucky Gresini squad. Alex is finally a stable midfielder in 2023. He takes a huge step forward, scoring a pair of GP podiums and two sprint wins in the pouring rain in Silverstone and his favourite track in Sepang. But again, someone’s gotta be the headline grabber. This time it was Fabio DiGiannantonio saving his own career via a miraculous late run, including beating World Champion Pecco Bagnaia in Qatar straight-up.
And of course, last season. Marc heads to town in the most shocking departure in MotoGP since Rossi came home in 2011 for an espresso and a… “talent check” via Casey Stoner. Marc has an excellent season with three wins and is a constant outside thorn in the title fight while adapting to his new machine, while Alex remains stagnant. All while Marc makes a political powerplay, refusing Pramac and unsettling Ducati into backing out of a handshake agreement with Jorge Martin and Antman gets the factory Ducati gig instead. Whoops.
But despite all the chaos and drama, 2025 has been the season where we finally saw beyond the glimpses, the flashes of what Alex could be, and the unveiling of the rider he now is. In a landscape where Marc Marquez has exhibited unbelievable speed and set the benchmark for the year, Alex has a one point lead in the Championship because he’s ridden to his limit, mitigated his errors, and racked up the points, never buckling despite the pressure from factory red.
Marc Marquez threw away another golden opportunity to put himself an entire GP ahead of his rivals. He dominated the Sprint to become just the second man ever to win five straight over half-distance, but he got shellshocked by a poor start in the GP, went in too hot into his ace corner, Turn 8, and slid out. He recovered to 12th and scored four points, but it’s another awakening of the bozo gene he originated and passed onto his Spanish and Italian descendants.
And we leave Jerez with this writer gaining no confidence in Pecco Bagnaia. He’s not good enough on Saturday’s, having lost his qualifying ace in the hole and has constantly complained about his struggles with the Sprint fuel tank on the bike. He’s already conceded 30 points to Marc in Sprints, and 15 to Alex. And the fact he could only manage third in the GP, stuck behind a Yamaha and multiple seconds behind a Marquez brother for the fourth time this season, is cause for concern. Pecco’s been more consistent, but the upside that made him the Champion he was, just isn’t there yet.
Through the inconsistencies of the factory Ducati redeem team, it’s the customer rider on last year’s bike that leads the Championship again. No ifs, no buts, no bullshit. He’s good value for his one point lead. Barring a sloppy Qatar race, Alex has been essentially faultless, and while I’d argue he never looked like the strongest Ducati until this weekend, he’s maximised the chances he’s had. While Ducati’s floor is even higher with everyone on its juggernaut of a GP24, it’s been baby Marquez that’s made the biggest gain with it. He’s gone from midfielder to genuine title contender via sheer consistency. That’s the quality of a World Champion. Almost like he’s won two of those or something.
Even now, after all of this, it still feels a little like his glory’s been snatched. Fabio Quartararo won MotoGP’s first “Rider of the Race” award, a fresh invention that totally didn’t come from the Liberty bigwigs in attendance. It was Fabio’s first pole position since Indonesia 2022 almost three years ago, and Yamaha’s first podium in nearly two years. Just hours after his second place, I was sharing articles on Motorsport’s MotoGP page about whether Fabio’s back in the same weekend we had a first time winner.
It’s time we give Alex his flowers on the Internet. If we can’t give him that after a stunning, deserved, home victory in front of 101,000 of his own, then when the hell else will we? Alex is not Marc. He’s never needed to be. But he’s every bit as resilient, and now, he can take him on in a direct fight. And the best part is? He’s winning.
Oh, and as one last note? This was Alex Marquez’s 93rd Premier Class start. Of course it was. I’ll never relate to being the little brother.
The Lightning Round
One more note – Despite the obvious disappointment of his own race, Marc Marquez entered Parc Ferme, hugged his crying brother, then faded back into the garage to let his brother have his moment. That’s a good man right there. And you’ll be hard pushed to find a better Motorsport photo this year.
I’ve now heard from both Marquez brothers on something I thought was implausible – Both said over the course of the weekend that the Ducati is so stable and packs so much grip, that it’s “too good”. It breeds overconfidence and that’s what leads to their mistakes. You forget, Alex Marquez crashed twice on Friday before his lap record in practice, and Marc had his second GP crash of the season.
Jerez has earned itself a five-year extension, keeping it on the calendar until 2031. I’m not going to lie, I fear that modern day MotoGP bikes are getting too fast for a few places on the calendar, but when 101,000 roll up for the Marquez brothers, it’s hard to deny its place. Fans were having light shows in the grandstands at 5am yesterday morning. I’ve never seen Jerez like it. Incredible.
So, what has Maverick Vinales found on the KTM that the others haven’t? Back-to-back race weekends he’s within four seconds of the win. In a week that the factory had to shutdown its road bike production with fears it may not be able to pay off the $500m it needs to clear in the next sixth month, their bikes finished 4th, 6th, 7th and 9th. Not bad.
For those keeping score at home – Joan Mir has 14 DNF’s in his last 24 GP starts. Man.
Alex Rins finished 20 seconds behind Fabio Quartararo and behind an already crashed Marc Marquez. Man x2.
Just when David Alonso’s starting to get the hang of Moto2, he crashes at the final corner again, taking Izan Guevara with him and breaking his ankle. Frig sake.
Oh yeah, Spain cleaned house this weekend, with Manuel Gonzalez dominating the Moto2 race, and Jose Antonio Rueda doing the same in Moto3. The conveyor belt just keeps on rolling.
This was the first podium in the top flight this season that didn’t have a Ducati lockout.
The Verdict – 6/10 (Decent): A better race after a completely drab Sprint that was headlined by Fabio Quartararo showing “Fuck it” on Lap 2 before crashing. Funny how that was supposed to be the entertaining format and it’s dull as shit. Anyway, a nice drama with Fabio in the mix and a new winner always goes over well, even if the series has the same old problems we talk about every week. See you at Le Mans.
