Alex Marquez: Marc injuries “created instability for me”; no “shared problems”
Honda endured an awful 2022, concluding with Alex exiting to join Gresini Ducati and Marc criticising the 2023 prototype bike.
Alex has now revealed the detrimental effect on him of his brother’s two-year injury hell, and how the dynamic will be different this season in rival MotoGP teams.
“Now he will have his problems and I will have mine,” Alex said. “They will no longer be shared problems."
He said about Marc’s difficulties with surgeries: "Well, the truth is, it's been three bad years since he fractured his humerus.
“2020 was a bit harder for me because I was his teammate and I lived it even more closely, but after so long you get used to the uncertainty.
“Always with concern, but in the end it was part of our day to day. 2022 was the most complicated year for Marc because diplopia came into play.
“I have always been with him, supporting him despite how difficult it is to combine being a brother and a driver.
“Sometimes his situation created instability for me.
“Luckily, we are very different in character and that makes us complement each other very well. I think if we were the same we would constantly collide.
“I am calmer and meditate on things much more than he does. I try to convey wisdom and reflection, while Marc is more impulsive and in many cases I transmit that spontaneity and impulsiveness that I lack."
Alex will team with Fabio di Giannantonio at Gresini, as a replacement for Enea Bastianini who was promoted to the factory Ducati team.
The sight of a Marquez brother in the Ducati ranks will be novel in the early weeks of the MotoGP season but, if Alex is to ever fulfil his potential in the premier class, it could be this season on a bike superior to last year’s.
“There came a point where my time with Honda stalled and I was forced to look for new motivations,” he said.
“At the moment, I'm feeling very comfortable with [Gresini] and the most important thing is that the bike is competitive.
“We did some tests in Valencia and, although it could only be a contact, I had a good feeling with the bike. On the other hand, in Malaysia, with three days of work, I was able to get my first impressions and discover the strengths and weaknesses of the bike.
“But the most important thing is that today we are fast and, although in the first races there will be things to solve, I am convinced that we will be competitive from day one.
“In MotoGP there is no adaptation that counts. Hopefully! In the end I have a year on my contract and I have to give everything from the first race.
“We will have to go for the best results when the MotoGP world championship starts on March 26 in Portugal. I want to focus on working race by race and without thinking too much about the future."
James was a sports journalist at Sky Sports for a decade covering everything from American sports, to football, to F1.
