David Alonso, interview: “Marc Marquez, I’ll tell you how he trains”

Marc Marquez is a reference in MotoGP, but he is also an inspiration for young talents. Among the most promising students is David Alonso, who often trains together with the Spaniard. Lively eyes, always smiling face: the Colombian, 19 years old, seems to easily find confidence with those around him. Alonso is available, but without being intrusive. This confidentiality disappears when the Aspar team driver takes to the track. This is demonstrated by the 2024 Moto3 world title, combined with the record of seasonal victories in the cadet class, 14. The first year in Moto2 was also decent, finishing in ninth place and enhanced by the success in Hungary. A pearl celebrated in parc fermé together with Marc, mentor, friend and idol of David himself.

David, how do you rate this first year in Moto2?

“This season I tried to learn from a new dimension. The transition from Moto3 to Moto2 required more than one change: the riding style, the physique… It’s a year in which I had to understand everything. It’s not easy, but in the end, little by little, everything is going well.”

What lesson from this year in particular has stuck with you? What did he learn?

“Maybe I’ve learned to have more patience, I’ve understood that things don’t come right away. You have to give yourself time, even when everything doesn’t go well from the start.”

You are very attentive to what the MotoGP riders do. He takes a bit of inspiration from Marquez, sometimes he talks to Bagnaia… What are you learning from them?

“I talk to many MotoGP riders because they are almost all world champions. You can learn from Marc’s hunger to win (Marquez, ed.), from Pecco’s (Bagnaia, ed.) being calm, like knowing how to do a fast lap from Martin. It’s important to learn from everyone.”

“I would say Marquez.”

Speaking of Marquez, you often train with him. What did he teach you during training and the days you spend together?

“When he trains, Marc behaves as if he were competing. He trains hard. And, even if he loses, he always has a smile on his face.”

Is there a special moment you experienced with Marc during these training sessions?

“I also like to go fast. Once we found ourselves fighting against each other. Then Marc slipped and on the following lap I fell. We were driving at the limit and in the end we ended up on the ground.”

Have you ever received compliments from Marquez after overtaking him?

“It’s difficult to surpass Marc…”.

At the moment you are among the five most successful riders on the grid, considering Moto3, Moto2 and MotoGP. And he hasn’t reached the top class yet… Does this fact have an effect on you?

“It means that my work with the team is going well. I just have to continue like this. Also because I’m young…”.

“Exactly, so I have plenty of time to grow further.”

Furthermore the Aspar team looks really special from the outside.

“Yes, it’s like a family. It’s a very professional team, but also a family one.”

After winning the Moto3 World Championship in Australia, she copied a particular celebration from Valentino Rossi, bandaging her head. He seems like a rider who is very attentive to the history of the MotoGP and this is not very normal given his young age.

“I don’t know the whole story, I’m still young. However, I like to look back at races from other years. That time Valentino took part in a particular race. So it was fun to remember the past.”

He has a very particular approach to racing. He starts slowly, but when he manages to make the leap in quality, he really changes pace and the results arrive. It was seen in Moto3, when he won his first race in 2023, then becoming almost unbeatable. And even this year, when he achieved his first victory in Moto2, his performance improved a lot.

“I’m not a rider who gets to quickly set the time right away. I have to understand everything to go fast. I’m slower in this respect, but it’s useful for doing better.”