Alex Marquez breathes a sigh of relief after his brother Marc’s World Championship triumph – he himself was under a lot of pressure in Japan – now he is looking ahead to the rest of the season
Alex Marquez was unable to prevent his older brother Marc from securing the World Championship title early at the Japanese Grand Prix.
In Motegi, Alex Marquez struggled to find the right feel for the front wheel of his Gresini Ducati. In the sprint, he missed out on the points in tenth place, but things went a little better in the Grand Prix on Sunday, with Alex Marquez finishing sixth.
This gives Marc Marquez a 201-point lead in the championship and his seventh MotoGP world title.
“To be honest,” says Alex Marquez, “when I saw the checkered flag, I breathed a sigh of relief for myself too. It was as if a weight had been lifted from my shoulders. Now it’s done. This weekend wasn’t easy for me.”
“I was extremely tense, constantly in front of the camera and in the spotlight – and as everyone knows, I don’t particularly like that. When all eyes are on you and you don’t feel comfortable on the bike at the same time, the pressure gets bigger and bigger.”
“Now I’ve taken a deep breath and I’m calmer,” said the Spaniard after the race. Alex Marquez achieved a solid result with sixth place after an extremely difficult Friday. With the help of his engineers, he was able to gradually get the problems under control. “Yes, I mean, we took another step forward on Sunday. It felt like we were still on Saturday, not Sunday like everyone else. We needed another day to get everything right and find the right position. But overall, it was okay.“
”It was a race where I just survived. Just trying not to make any mistakes. Because I knew the guys in front of me had more pace. I just wanted to keep a small gap so as not to overheat the front tire—just get through it.”
“These aren’t the races a rider wants. But they’re races you have to ride if you want to achieve something in the championship. I learned a lot this weekend.”
“We know where we made the mistake—where I made the mistake,” admits Alex Marquez. “I didn’t approach the weekend with the intensity that a rider needs to approach it. I’ve learned from that.”
Alex Marquez has Francesco Bagnaia in his sights
“Now we have to go to Mandalika with a new mentality.” He has a 66-point lead over Francesco Bagnaia in the World Championship. After his victory, the Ducati factory rider announced that he still wants to try to catch up with Alex Marquez in the remaining races.
After the World Championship decision, the remaining Grands Prix could be an open race for the victories. “Marc will start winning again, just as he has done all season,” Alex Marquez predicts.
“And we will try to fight for second place in the championship. Then it will be back to normal – not like here in Japan. Marc will take risks, Marc will be freer, that’s just how it is. I think that’s exactly how it has to be.”
“It’s true that ‘Pecco’ has taken a step forward here – thanks to the Misano test. That’s normal: when you’re in a factory team, you have 100 engineers looking at everything. In the end, you have to find a solution.“
”It’s impossible to have problems all season long. Apparently, they’ve now found a solution. He’ll be faster and more consistent now. And we have to do our job throughout the season in such a way that we can keep up with him.”
