Alex Marquez promises not to repeat 2024 ‘mistake’ after topping MotoGP’s Sepang Test for Gresini

Add as preferred source on Google

Ducati continued to display their dominance in MotoGP as they topped the final day of testing in Malaysia. However, it was satellite rider Alex Marquez who went fastest.

The Spaniard topped the time sheets by just seven thousandths of a second over factory Ducati rider Francesco Bagnaia. Marquez will be riding the GP24 this season while his brother Marc Marquez, Bagnaia and Fabio Di Giannantonio will run with the 2025 spec.

Alex Marquez was on the year-old GP23 last season alongside his brother at Gresini. The Spaniard finished eighth in the standings with one podium while Marc grabbed three wins and 10 podiums and finished third.

For 2025, Alex Marquez will have the GP24 spec. Ducati won 19 out of 20 races in 2024 with the bike and after three days of pre-season testing in Malaysia, it seems to be the machine to beat.

Alex Marquez promises to not focus on others in 2025 with Gresini

It would be unrealistic for Ducati to find a few more tenths with the GP25 as the bike still needs to be refined. But the fact Marquez set the fastest time on the GP24 proves last year’s machine is the one to have at the moment.

Marquez’s ‘super impressive’ time was just a tenth off Bagnaia’s pole lap at Sepang last season. And the 28-year-old is looking to carry that into 2025.

Speaking on After The Flag following the third day of testing, Marquez insisted he does not care about what the factory Ducati chooses to do with their bikes. The Spaniard is not looking to repeat last year’s ‘mistake’ of worrying about others.

“I don’t know if they have the opportunity to come back or not. It’s not my problem, I don’t care about that”, he said.

READ MORE: Davide Tardozzi has now changed his mind on the ‘main opponent’ for Marc Marquez and Francesco Bagnaia

“I know what I have. What they decide will not influence to me what we have to do. We will have a GP24 from the first race of the season until the end and we will have that, the same package [for] all [of] the season.

“So we need to focus in ourself. Don’t look to the other ones because I mean [that was] a little bit of a mistake that I did last year.

“So just focus on what we have on the carriage and to try to come forward on that”.

How Marc Marquez reacted to Alex Marquez’s race simulation in Malaysia

It is not yet known what Ducati will do about the GP25. But it is evident that the bike needs work after hits predecessor looked stronger at Sepang.

Marc Marquez felt his race simulation was ‘super good’ on this year’s spec – making Alex Marquez’s feat of beating him even more impressive.

The 28-year-old will be heading into this season with confidence knowing that a top result could be possible. Alex Marquez has never won a race in MotoGP.

Fellow GP24 rider Franco Morbidelli says wins are ‘definitely’ possible in 2025 – the Italian has claimed three wins in his career. Rookie Fermin Aldeguer completes the line-up on the 2024 bike, but it may take time for Alex Marquez’s new teammate to take victory.