Marco Bezzecchi
Alex Marquez enjoyed one of his best weekends of the 2025 MotoGP campaign as he secured a third victory of his career in Sepang.
The Spaniard put an early move on Francesco Bagnaia and held a gap for the remainder of the race, without coming under any real pressure. It wasn’t a classic Malaysian Grand Prix, but it won’t have bothered the race-winner one bit.
Marquez, who has now guaranteed second place behind his brother in the MotoGP standings, can finally celebrate his successes after he heads back home to be with family. The flyaway portion of the season is officially over, and his Gresini team have enjoyed a fruitful last few weeks.
Marc Marquez couldn’t ask for more from Alex and was delighted to see his brother help secure a family one-two on Saturday. Alex thinks Marc will retire when he wants, and whenever he does, it could be time for another Marquez to take over the reins and continue to compete for titles.
READ MORE: Alex Marquez shares what Marc Marquez told him was ‘hard’ about not racing in Australia after injury
Alex Marquez admits ‘mistake’ not to attack Francesco Bagnaia sooner at the Malaysian Grand Prix
Alex has been waiting to celebrate with Marc ever since he secured a seventh title back in Japan. The 29-year-old didn’t feel as though his main mission for the season was complete yet, and he has continued to perform well since then.
Marquez wasn’t worried about Bagnaia, despite a mini-revival from the Ducati star a few races ago, which could have derailed any attempt to finish second in the standings. Over the last six races, he has six top-six finishes and four podiums to show for his efforts. He has been very impressive.
But he leaves Sepang feeling as though maximum points might have been on offer if he had attacked Bagnaia earlier in the sprint race on Saturday, admitting to TNT Sports on Sunday that he had made a ‘mistake’ in his judgement.
“Yesterday, it was my mistake to not attack Pecco at the beginning,” he said. “I had a few opportunities, that I, at the end, decide to make it. I had not [been] 100% clear. So everything, I said ‘I need to finish, I need to score my second place in the championship.’ and it was like this.
“Yesterday, I say ‘Now, I’m more relaxed, tomorrow I try.’ This is what I did. The feeling during all of this weekend, the tarmac changed a lot compared [to] February. Looks like it’s quite damaged.
“A lot of stones coming out from the tarmac, and it’s a little bit difficult. We improved a little bit the bike, this morning on the warm-up.”
READ MORE: Francesco Bagnaia shares his one ‘hope’ after Ducati gave Alex Marquez a factory bike for 2026
Why Alex Marquez now has another big task to complete for Ducati
Although it may look like Marquez has done his job for the year, the reality is that the real hard work may be just starting.
He has one of the three factory Ducati bikes for 2026, and with his brother missing the post-season test in Valencia, as well as Francesco Bagnaia being up and down, his feedback is going to be crucial.
Effectively, he might have a crucial say in which direction the team decides to develop their bike in the future. It might make him a true contender for next year’s title.
Michele Masini was really angry with the coverage of Marquez and believes that he deserves more of a nod for his performances. Now he gets the chance to step up and be a true leader at Ducati for the first time. His work isn’t done for 2025 just yet.
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