Alex Marquez secured the 2025 MotoGP runner-up title at the Malaysian Grand Prix. Already on Saturday he secured second place in the World Championships with second place in the sprint. For the first time in the history of the Motorcycle World Championship, two brothers finished a season in first and second place.
“I think when you experience a moment like that, it’s difficult to give yourself credit for it,” says Alex Marquez. “When you’re in the middle of that moment, it feels a little strange.”
“But I’m sure that maybe in ten years we’ll be sitting on the sofa and saying: Yes, we were there. And then we’ll have a big smile on our face and a nice, fresh beer in our hand. That’ll be nice.”
“We really can’t complain about anything. It was the perfect year for the family. Now Marc is injured, but it was still a perfect year. We enjoyed every moment. We were first and second many, many times and often on the podium together.”
“We have achieved something extraordinary. We have to enjoy it because it can be a once-in-a-lifetime moment in our lives.” Marc Marquez experienced the Sepang weekend in Spain in front of the television.
Immediately after the sprint he called his brother. “Yes, we spoke briefly,” says Alex Marquez. “I told him we have to have a big party together. We will definitely do that and enjoy it together with family, our people and friends.”
Is this second world championship place in MotoGP to be valued more highly compared to his two world championship titles in Moto3 and Moto2? “No, it’s similar. I mean, it’s similar because it’s a second place, but for me it’s not a normal second place.”
“My path in MotoGP wasn’t easy. I started 2020 very well, with two podiums as a rookie in the Repsol Honda team. I later moved to LCR and experienced two difficult years there. By 2023 I was almost at home.”
“With a bit of luck or fate, I then had the chance with Gresini. That’s why it’s really special for me. I’m second, so I’m the first loser, I would say. But the winner is my brother – that’s something different, a different feeling.”
“It was something perfect, something special considering where we come from and the path we have taken. For that reason it is a really great second place.” Gresini is also the best satellite team of the year after Malaysia.
MotoGP: Still cramped in the sprint, perfect in the Grand Prix
Alex Marquez admitted after the sprint that he was tense and couldn’t ride the bike so easily. Because he always had in the back of his mind that he could secure second place in the World Cup. When it finally worked, a lot of pressure fell off his shoulders.
On Sunday, the 29-year-old drove confidently to his third Grand Prix victory. “The conditions and, above all, the feeling with the motorcycle have changed a lot here compared to February. The asphalt and the condition of the track were completely different.”
“But step by step we turned a lot of things in a good direction over the course of the weekend. We improved the feeling a little in the warm-up and later I was clever enough to implement the plan,” says Alex Marquez.
His plan was: “Pedro [Acosta] attacking in the first round, ‘Pecco’ [Bagnaia] in the second and then control the time until the end. It was almost a perfect race and I’m really happy with it.”
The Spaniard undoubtedly had his best MotoGP season. At the start of the year he was regularly second to his brother. Then there was a slump in the summer until it found its shape again in the fall.
“It’s true that we lost track a little in the middle part of the season, especially after the crash in Assen in which I was injured. After that, you don’t ride the way you should because you have pain in your hand or other parts of your body.”
“Then you no longer force yourself as much as you should to get the motorcycle to turn in and straighten up properly. At that moment we lost the thread a bit,” he looks back. But the turnaround was achieved.
“We then took a step back and said: Okay, we are going in a direction that is not the right one. So we took a step back. But if you suffer and still [in Japan] Finishing sixth is already progress. That was important for us.”
“Also the nerves, the pressure of fighting for second place, that’s never easy. But now that we’re free, we have to manage that better to enjoy the last two races.” The victory in Malaysia was his eleventh podium finish of the season. Only his brother was on the podium more often, 15 times.