Marc and Alex Marquez are shaking up MotoGP as brothers – but they are connected by more than just their family ties: they are friends
Alex Marquez celebrated his first MotoGP victory in Jerez, while his older brother crashed and managed to finish in twelfth place. In the overall standings, Alex Marquez is now one point ahead of his older brother, who has won three Grands Prix and all the sprints, but has also had two crashes. But the two are connected by more than just blood: they are good friends.
“The relationship is even closer because we speak the same language,” explains Marc Marquez. “When one of you wins and your friend, your brother, is only in tenth place, eight tenths of a second behind, it’s difficult to talk about the same thing. We ride very differently, but now it’s super close and I’m really happy for him because he deserves it. I often read in articles about his career that he’s Marc’s brother.”
But according to Marc, Alex Marquez has worked hard to earn his place in the premier class of motorcycle racing. Vitamin B? He doesn’t believe in that: “I often read that he’s only in MotoGP because of his brother, but he’s a two-time world champion and super talented. He just needs time, and when he has the perfect bike, he can be very fast. He’ll win [more] races this year.”
The Marquez brothers both ride Ducatis, Marc Marquez in the factory team with the latest upgrades, Alex Marquez for the Gresini customer team, which has to do without new parts for the time being despite its victory in Jerez. “We work together. On the track, I represent the red colors, he represents Gresini. But it’s good that we both ride Ducatis because that way we can talk about the little details. On the track, we give 100 percent.”
Their parents are also eagerly following the duel between the two Spaniards. “My mother always jokes, ‘Please be careful when overtaking.’ But they know that I have to overtake and will always try to do so. Nobody wants to make a mistake. Not just because it’s my brother, that goes for every competitor. Mistakes are dangerous for everyone, for yourself, but also for the other riders. That’s racing.”
According to Marc Marquez, his parents are aware of the risks they take in MotoGP. “But they are super happy,” he clarifies. “They just don’t know what to advise us. They just say we should keep going.” According to Marc Marquez, his parents don’t have a favorite, even though Alex hasn’t won a title yet. “No matter who wins, they are happy,” says the Spaniard.
“I’m happy, sometimes I’m even happier when he wins a race than I am,” Marc Marquez continues. ‘Alex deserves to fight for the title because he works hard.’ After Alex Marquez’s victory in Jerez, his brother was happy for him, but at the same time Marc Marquez is so ambitious that he immediately started working on being even faster in the future.
