Clever tire strategy leads to superior victory: Marc Marquez also triumphs in the MotoGP in Qatar and takes his brother Alex Marquez under his protection
Marc Marquez controlled both the sprint and the Grand Prix during the MotoGP weekend in Lusail (Qatar). Although the track layout does not particularly suit Marquez’s driving style, the number 93 celebrated two clear victories. However, Marquez had to slow himself down at the start of the race to achieve Sunday’s success.
“I’m very happy – especially because this was the most important weekend of the season for me personally,” comments Marquez, adding: “Thailand, Argentina, Austin – those were good tracks for me. But here was the first time that I thought, ‘Okay, maybe I’ll struggle a bit.’ I knew that ‘Pecco’, Alex, Di Giannantonio and a few others would be extremely fast here.”
“But I worked hard throughout the weekend. I made progress in the fast right-handers – that was also very important. In the race, I then chose a different strategy because I specifically managed the front tire,” reports the winner.
Marc Marquez planned to lose the lead
Marquez accepted the risk of losing the lead temporarily. Even the gap of over a second to leader Franco Morbidelli (VR46-Ducati) did not cause Marquez any headaches. The primary goal was to save the front tire for the final laps and then pick up the pace. This tactic worked perfectly.
“I just made sure to take care of my front tire – because with my riding style, I put a lot of stress on the front,” said Marquez. “I knew that ‘Pecco’ would eventually catch up if I used this strategy because I slowed down the pace significantly. Morbidelli pulled away in front, but I didn’t care.”
“When ‘Pecco’ overtook me, I said to myself, ‘Now the race begins!’ Then I started to push. In the final seven laps, when I overtook Vinales, I pushed a little harder again – on the brakes, when turning in, and when changing load to the front. That’s where I made the decisive step,” describes Marquez.
The fact that a KTM was fighting for victory at one point surprised Marquez. Above all, the fact that Vinales was the one challenging the Ducatis took the eventual winner by surprise.
“When I entered the first corner and saw a KTM, I thought: That must be Acosta. But when he overtook me, it was Vinales – he rode really well. I tried to understand what he did better,” commented Marquez. ‘The KTM has some strengths that we can work on. But our bike has a very good overall package.’
Contact in turn 1: Marc Marquez loses an aero element
It was already heated shortly after the start when Alex Marquez touched the rear of Marc Marquez’ Ducati and tore a wing off the hump of the Ducati. The scene went smoothly, both Marquez brothers remained seated.
Alex Marquez was desperate to win in Qatar and therefore rode very aggressively. “I got off to a really good start and immediately attacked into the first corner,” Alex Marquez describes the scene in turn one.
LIGHTS OUT in Qatar!
Contact between the Marquez brothers and FRANKY LEADS QatarGP pic. twitter.com/jMMVsZXI6x
— MotoGP™ (@MotoGP) April 13, 2025
“I’m not sure exactly what happened – maybe I misjudged it. He told me that he closed the throttle because he had a moment when he lost the rear a little and so he took the throttle back slightly,” explains Alex Marquez.
“When I got to that point, I saw him briefly and realized that he was already accelerating again,“ said Alex Marquez. ‘So I tried to accelerate too – and then I felt the contact shortly after. But nothing happened, so I thought, ’Okay, let’s go on!’”
Marc Marquez protects his brother Alex
“The contact with Alex was more my fault than his,“ Marc Marquez clarifies. ‘I opened the throttle and the rear wheel felt unstable, so I closed the throttle again – he didn’t expect that, so he ran into me.’
”This allowed Morbidelli to pass me on the outside. So it was more my mistake – luckily we both stayed on our bikes,” explains Marc Marquez, who was still fast even without the wing on his hump. ‘I only lost the smallest wing element on the seat fairing. I didn’t feel any difference,’ admits the Ducati factory rider.
