Marco Bezzecchi
Marc Marquez is expected to pick up from where he left off in MotoGP once bikes hit the circuit at the season-opener in Thailand, but Jorge Lorenzo believes Alex Marquez’s benchmark at Sepang has confirmed him as being a serious threat to his brother’s title defence.
Much of Marc Marquez’s pre-season preparations for the 2026 MotoGP season have been about recovery.
One week after securing his seventh premier class crown last year, the Spaniard found himself sidelined after sustaining a broken collarbone in an incident with Marco Bezzecchi at Indonesia.
However, there’s no doubt at all about Marquez losing even a fraction of his talents following the setback, and he is largely expected to be the man to beat as he readies himself for another season with the factory Ducati team.
With his younger brother, Alex Marquez, now receiving factory support from Ducati, he will be on the same calibre of machinery as the high-flying Ant of Cervera.
The Gresini rider topped the timesheets in Sepang during MotoGP’s first official week of testing, and Jorge Lorenzo believes that Alex’s performance in Malaysia is just a taste of what’s to come from the 29-year-old.
What is YOUR hot take for the 2026 MotoGP season? 🔥
Jorge Lorenzo thinks Alex Marquez has now confirmed himself as a threat to Marc Marquez
In a recent interview with Marca, Jorge Lorenzo was asked for his opinion on the upcoming season of racing in the premier class, and more specifically, how the Spaniard’s on the grid will fare.
There are nine riders to hail from the Iberian country on the entry list for the 2026 MotoGP campaign, which is nearly half of the 22 full-time riders on the grid.
Out of those nine, Lorenzo sees two as being serious contenders for the title. The first is obviously Marc Marquez, ahead of his latest title-defending campaign, and the other is his younger brother, Alex.
He said, “Alex Marquez has once again surprised everyone in Sepang with the best pace, half a step ahead of Marc and [Francesco] Bagnaia. This confirms that Alex Marquez will be competitive again.
“Fermin Aldeguer, bad luck, and Jorge Martin, also unlucky with that collarbone. And Acosta and Maverick are riding a KTM whose ability to match the Ducati and Aprilia remains to be seen.
“The two Spaniards who currently seem most in contention for the World Championship are Marc Marquez and his brother.”
As the country with the most representation on the grid, Spain has had some of the best riders to ever grace MotoGP over the years.
Which MotoGP satellite team has the best 2026 rider line-up?
Alex Marquez is expected to move to KTM for the 2027 MotoGP season
Despite the new season being just weeks away now, the biggest topic in MotoGP at the moment is the red-hot rider market for the 2027 campaign.
Amid several high-profile moves that will drastically change the current landscape of the grid, Alex Marquez is understood to be in the final stages of negotiations with KTM.
Pedro Acosta is expected to be a factory Ducati rider in 2027, meaning that a seat will be open at the Austrian team.
Maverick Vinales has also been reported to be stepping up to the factory outfit following his tenure with Tech3, meaning that Marquez would likely replace Brad Binder and leave the South African’s future in the premier class up in the air.
It’s been a fascinating few weeks in that regard. While no move has received official confirmation, it will be very interesting to see how the rider market evolves as the season continues to inch ever closer.
Receive racing news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
