Marco Bezzecchi
Gresini’s Alex Marquez cannot understand how Ducati star Marc Marquez can always make the difference in the wet, after his “lucky” Sprint win at the Spanish Grand Prix.
Marc Marquez scored his second Sprint win of the 2026 season at Jerez this Saturday, yet he needed some fortune to come home P1. The 33-year-old crashed at the last corner while running second behind Alex Marquez, which let him cut over the track to enter the pit lane.
While the factory Ducati rider got away cleanly and built an early lead, he had no answer for the pace of his Gresini ace sibling once Alex cleared LCR Honda’s Johann Zarco. Alex took the lead halfway through the Sprint by simply riding around Marc’s outside through Turn 8.
Marc tried to stay with Alex as spots of rain started to fall at Jerez, but staying out with slick tyres proved to be a mistake for the pair as the weather continued to worsen. Marc crashed at the final corner on Lap 8, while Alex also then hit the deck mere moments later at Turn 8.
Should Marc Marquez have received a penalty for cutting across the track to pit after crashing in the Jerez Sprint?
Alex Marquez cannot understand how Marc Marquez always makes a difference in the wet
Marc Marquez avoided a penalty for cutting across the track in the Jerez Sprint, as he opted to dive into the pit lane to switch onto his back-up bike after crashing. Alex admits that the seven-time champion’s fall coming at the final corner was a stroke of “luck” for his brother.
READ MORE: Jerez Sprint results as Marc Marquez wins despite crashing in the rain
But while Marc was lucky with where he crashed, Alex still thinks his brother put on a show to win the Jerez Sprint. Alex struggles to understand exactly how Marc is able to make such a difference, having shown throughout his career that he is the master of flag-to-flag races.
“I don’t know how he does it, but every time these conditions are present, he’s there,” Alex Marquez said, via quotes by Motosan. “So, I don’t believe so much in luck, but in how skilful he is in very difficult situations, but today he did [get lucky].
“Sometimes he’s taken a risk and it’s paid off very well, but not today. Today he crashed. And as a result of the crash, things went well for him. So, today, luck was on his side.
“Other times it wasn’t, because he’s the one who has made the decisions in all the situations we’ve seen with Honda, especially in those flag-to-flag races where he won by many seconds, finding the right moment to change. But today, it was destiny.”
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While Marc Marquez has shown himself to be the master of flag-to-flag races all throughout his MotoGP career, the Cervera native admits that he made a “mistake” in the Sprint at Jerez that could have cost him the victory by opting to stay out on slick tyres as Alex Marquez had.
Gresini ace Alex Marquez was the first rider to test the conditions in the lead of the Sprint at the Spanish GP. So, when Marc saw the 30-year-old stay out, he chose to stay out, only for it to backfire. But Marc was blessed that not enough of his rivals had also pitted at that point.
Marc Marquez noted, via Motorsport.com: “I should have used my experience and come in earlier to change bikes. But I saw that Alex was still on the track, and I made the mistake of following him.”
Ducati ace Marc Marquez crashed at the ideal moment to avoid the fate that the riders who stayed out an extra lap during the Sprint met as the rain worsened. He fell to P17 by pitting, but was then up to P2 when Fermin Aldeguer and Brad Binder crashed and others stopped.
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