Marco Bezzecchi
Gresini ace Alex Marquez will line up beside his brother Marc Marquez of Ducati on the front row of the grid once again in the 2025 MotoGP season at the Grand Prix of Qatar.
The Marquez brothers have largely dominated the opening rounds of the MotoGP season to see Alex head the standings ahead of Marc by just a point. The advantage is now in the Marc Marquez camp at the Qatar GP, though, after the Ducati rider scored pole position by 0.101s.
Marc registered a new all-time track record for the Lusail International Circuit to beat Alex to P1 this Saturday. His result also came in stark contrast to the other side of the Ducati garage, as Francesco Bagnaia crashed in Q2 at the Qatar GP and he would only qualify in 11th place.
It is also the third time through four rounds that Marc and Alex Marquez have qualified in first and second. Fabio Di Giannantonio’s P2 on the grid for the Grand Prix of the Americas denies the Marquez brothers a clean sweep with their qualifying displays in Thailand and Argentina.
Neil Hodgson tells Alex Marquez to ‘let the brake off’ if he wants to beat Marc Marquez at the Qatar Grand Prix
Marc will now hope to utilise his P1 start at the Qatar GP to bounce back from the Spaniard’s first non-score this year in Austin. Marquez crashed from the lead of the Americas GP after winning the opening three Sprint Races and two Grands Prix to his works Ducati rider career.
The 32-year-old’s fall even saw Alex Marquez lead the MotoGP riders’ championship for the first time in the 28-year-old’s career. The Gresini star secured second place in every race so far this season as the Spaniard’s wait for his first MotoGP Grand Prix win continues to roll on.
READ MORE: Everything to know about Alex Marquez from net worth to career stats
Neil Hodgson is also yet to see Alex do the ‘only’ thing that will see him beat Marc ahead of the Qatar GP, and that is for the younger Marquez sibling to ruff his brother up. The 2003 World Superbikes champion thinks it is the only way to beat the six-time champion at Lusail.
“We haven’t seen it yet,” Hodgson said on TNT Sports 2 (12/04, 14:22). “Look, if you’re Alex Marquez and your brother is Marc Marquez, and you’re leading the world championship, there’s only one way you’re going to be able to beat him and you’re going to have to let the brake off at some point on your brother.”
Alex Marquez can only rely on consistency for so long before Marc Marquez cements his psychological edge
Alex Marquez leads the MotoGP riders’ championship ahead of the Qatar GP weekend after bringing home consistent second-place results for Gresini on his Ducati Desmosedici GP24 this year. But the Spaniard is now 92 Grands Prix into his premier class career without a win.
READ MORE: Everything to know about Marc Marquez from net worth to girlfriend
Consistency can carry Marquez to the title like it did for him in the 2014 Moto3 season and in the 2019 Moto2 season. But in each of those he also enjoyed wins, with three and five in the lightweight and intermediate classes each, to take those titles by only two and three points.
When your rival is also Marc Marquez – a six-time MotoGP champion who also has 64 wins from 192 Grands Prix – the Gresini star must show that Alex Marquez can beat his brother. Otherwise, the Ducati ace will always have a psychological edge when they share the track.
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