Marco Bezzecchi
Gresini racer Alex Marquez won the 2025 MotoGP Malaysian Grand Prix to celebrate him also securing second place in the riders’ championship at Sepang last weekend.
The Marquez siblings have made history in the 2025 MotoGP season, as the first brothers to lock out the top two positions in the premier class standings. Alex Marquez has also secured his runners-up finish behind Marc Marquez with rounds in Portugal and Valencia remaining.
Alex Marquez’s P2 finish in the Sepang Sprint last Saturday was enough for him to secure P2 in the standings. But it was not the highlight of the weekend, as Marquez won the Malaysian GP for his third feature win so far this season following the Spanish and Catalan Grands Prix.
The 29-year-old now sits 122 points ahead of Marco Bezzecchi of Aprilia in third place. Marc Marquez’s injury ruling him out for the rest of 2025 has allowed Alex to reduce his deficit to the 32-year-old atop the standings from 183 to 132 points, with a maximum of 74 available.
Mat Oxley rates Fabio Quartararo and Pedro Acosta above Alex Marquez and Francesco Bagnaia
Mat Oxley also believes Alex Marquez has “finally” announced his talents to the world in the 2025 MotoGP season, having lived in Marc’s shadow throughout his career. But while Alex is a match for most riders today, there are still three superior names to the younger Marquez.
READ MORE: Everything to know about Alex Marquez from net worth to career stats
Yet Oxley overlooked Marc’s factory Ducati teammate, Francesco Bagnaia. Instead, he feels only Marc Marquez, Yamaha’s Fabio Quartararo and KTM’s Pedro Acosta are clearly superior riders to Alex. Bagnaia sits P4 in the standings and Acosta is P5, while Quartararo is only P9.
Oxley told Motor Sport Magazine: “Alex’s Sunday victory was his third in a year during which he finally announced the strength of his talent. Alex isn’t Marc, but he’s pretty much as good as anyone else on the grid after his brother, Fabio Quartararo and Pedro Acosta.”
Alex Marquez won the Spanish GP for his first MotoGP Grand Prix win in round 5/22 in April. Yet unlike at Jerez, he won the Catalan GP and Malaysian GP on pure merit. Alex capitalised on Marc Marquez’s crash at Jerez, but he was the class of the field in Barcelona and Sepang.
Pedro Acosta is ‘a new man’ after changing his mentality to focus on KTM instead of Ducati
Oxley rates Acosta among the top four riders on the 2025 MotoGP grid, having seen a major change in the KTM ace as the season has progressed. While the Spaniard initially focused on how KTM’s bike was not up to scratch, he is now finding form by focusing more on himself.
READ MORE: Everything to know about Pedro Acosta from net worth to girlfriend
“Acosta is a new man,” Oxley added. “He scored zero podiums in the first 11 GPs, and has taken four in the last nine. Bike upgrades have helped. But the biggest shift has been his mentality, focusing on being the best he can be rather than wishing he were on a Ducati.”
Acosta frustrated Fabio Di Giannantonio by publicly flirting with VR46 earlier this season, in the Spaniard’s bid to get on a Ducati as quickly as the 2026 season. But while Acosta offered KTM £1.3m to break his contract, they are forcing him to honour his deal through next year.
So, while Acosta admits he “of course” would trade places with Bagnaia in the factory Ducati team if given the chance to move “right now”, the Mazarron native is having to think about how he can find performance from the KTM RC16 instead of trying to get on a Desmosedici.
Should Acosta continue to excel on the KTM, having now scored podiums in four of the past nine Grands Prix, he could also attract wider interest. Honda are prepared to triple Acosta’s KTM salary to sign the 2021 Moto3 and 2023 Moto2 champion for the 2027 MotoGP term.
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