Marco Bezzecchi
Marc Marquez can treat the last five rounds of the 2025 MotoGP season as free hits after clinching the world championship. But his brother Alex Marquez is still fighting for second.
Alex’s grip on P2 seemed to be fairly secure, but Francesco Bagnaia’s perfect weekend at Motegi has raised the prospect of a late charge. The gap is down to 66 points heading into the Indonesian Grand Prix.
If Bagnaia can maintain the form he showed in Japan, then Alex could be in trouble. While the Gresini rider won the Catalan GP, his consistency has deserted him since the summer break, with his podium rate dropping from 67% to 40%.
What’s at stake? There are likely to be contractual incentives at play, but as he prepares to step up to a Ducati factory bike next year, beating Bagnaia would be a symbolic statement from Marquez, who may hope to partner his brother come 2027.
Marc Marquez rules out helping Alex Marquez in fight with Francesco Bagnaia
With Marc having nothing tangible to fight for, there have been suggestions that he could lend his brother a hand. The wheel-to-wheel battles between the two this year have, understandably, lacked the customary intensity.
A one-two finish in the standings would be a dream scenario for the Marquez family. But Marc has definitively ruled out assisting Alex, suggesting he doesn’t need it.
Given that he’s nominally on a superior bike, Marc says it would be ‘normal’ for Bagnaia to finish in the top two regardless. Alex isn’t dealing with that pressure, even if he has a commanding advantage.
“I won’t be helping Alex at all; he’s fast enough to do it on his own,” he said, via DAZN. “That said, it’s normal for Pecco to finish second, and Alex third.”
Alex Marquez was expecting some assistance from his brother Marc
At the start of last month, Alex Marquez said Marc would help him off-track by giving him advice. He did feel, however, that his older sibling paid him too much attention in 2019, when he was going for the Moto2 title.
Marc may have learned from that experience and taken a step back. Alex isn’t worried by Bagnaia’s revival and would prefer to focus on improving his own form.
Marquez Sr says he wouldn’t give his brother a title, even though he has seven, but thinks he can win one of his own accord. For all the progress he’s made this year, it’s difficult to envision Alex beating Marc in a head-to-head.
Gresini are ‘really angry’ with the coverage of their star rider, who they feel isn’t shown adequate respect. Finishing runner-up in the standings, six places higher than his previous best, would establish him as a MotoGP star in his own right.
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