Marco Bezzecchi
Marc Marquez renews his battle with brother Alex Marquez at the Grand Prix of Italy this weekend. The Ducati factory rider holds a 32-point lead coming into the event.
Alex’s career-best season has prevented the MotoGP title race from turning into a procession. Francesco Bagnaia, who was expected to challenge, has fallen 93 points adrift.
The Gresini star’s path to a shock championship is clear – remain consistent and hope his brother makes mistakes. On pure pace, he’s struggled to match him.
There is still debate as to whether Ducati’s GP25 is an upgrade on Alex’s GP24. It only appears so in the hands of Marc.
The younger sibling has finished ahead three times this season, but Marc has fallen in two of those races (the Americas and Spanish Grands Prix). Alex has remarkably finished second in 11 out of 16 events.
Alex Marquez may wish he hadn’t told Marc Marquez to join Ducati
Speaking to La Repubblica, Marc insisted that the fraternal rivalry was ‘very strong’. The two riders have celebrated together after multiple races this season.
He also recalled that, back in 2023, Alex told him he ‘needed to’ get out of his Honda contract. Marquez split with the Japanese manufacturer, who helped him win six world championships, a year early.
The brothers ended up reuniting at Gresini, where Marc effectively relaunched his career. He beat Jorge Martin in a shoot-out for the factory spot alongside Bagnaia, and now looks almost unstoppable in red.
“There is a very strong rivalry between me and Alex, we fight for the title and this improves us,” he said.
“After 2020, he has always been very close to me. He helped me get out of where I had ended up, I was at risk of losing my bikes. He was the one who told me that I needed to change, who suggested the Gresini team. Now maybe he regrets it [laughs]!”
Alex Marquez mounts admirable defence of Francesco Bagnaia
Alex Marquez has been labelled a ‘surprise’ title contender in 2025, but he doesn’t understand why. He is, after all, riding one of the greatest MotoGP bikes ever.
But it should also be said that he hadn’t won a Grand Prix coming into this season. And he wasn’t particularly impressive last year, finishing over 200 points behind his brother on the same equipment.
It seems the 29-year-old has taken a leap as he approaches 100 races in the premier class. He’s no doubt shocked Bagnaia in the process.
Marquez admirably defended Bagnaia before the race in Mugello, rejecting the idea that Marc is ‘in his head’. The Italian will naturally be looking to the other side of the garage because the #93 is a ‘reference’ for the entire field.
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