Marco Bezzecchi
Alex Marquez returned from the summer break and found form immediately at the Austrian Grand Prix with a solid result in the sprint.
The Spaniard led just over half the race before making a small mistake and being overtaken by brother Marc on the factory Ducati bike.
By far the most encouraging aspect of the race was Marquez’s pace on the Gresini bike, which he struggled with before the summer break.
Some were starting to doubt his ability to remain second in the MotoGP standings between now and the end of the season. He’s going to give it a great shot, judging by the Austrian Grand Prix.
Marquez has one ‘significant’ benefit that could cause Francesco Bagnaia problems for the rest of 2025, with plenty of scope to maximise the GP24 bike.
Just weeks ago, Marquez made a ‘magical’ comment and believes that managing to finish second in the standings would be an amazing achievement. It would be ahead of a factory Ducati rider in particular.
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Alex Marquez has been held back by a ‘significant limitation’ with his left hand in 2025
Somehow, Marquez has managed to avoid missing any races this season, despite an ugly crash at the Dutch Grand Prix, which broke his hand.
After some speedy surgery, he was back on his bike, but felt like a ‘passenger’ at the German Grand Prix on his way to second place. He felt there was a lot more in the tank.
Now, the 29-year-old has revealed how much injuring his left hand held him back before the summer break.
“Honestly, I couldn’t ride the way I know how because of the hand injury. It was a significant limitation. Now, however, I feel almost 100% and have no limitations,” he told the Italian edition of Motorsport.com.
“Before, it was also a mental issue, because I knew I was injured and I was also afraid of crashing again and hurting that area again. It wasn’t easy in Brno, especially. But I never lost my speed and I’m happy with today’s race.”
Why Francesco Bagnaia won’t be able to catch Alex Marquez in 2025
MotoGP fans couldn’t believe a ‘ridiculous’ decision Marquez made earlier in the season not to fight his brother on track.
Some feel as if his approach to fighting him is different from other riders. Now, it looks almost guaranteed that they will finish first and second in 2025.
They won’t be one bit bothered by what outsiders think about their riding, but from 57 points behind with one Grand Prix and nine events to go, Bagnaia might need a miracle to finish second overall.
He just hasn’t found his groove all year long, and it doesn’t look like it’s going to appear out of nowhere any time soon.
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