Alex Marquez on Honda-Ducati: “Same effort, instead of 15th, fighting for podium

The younger Marquez brother claimed his first MotoGP pole position in Argentina then claimed a third-placed finish, an emphatic reminder of his potential which was arguably forgotten at Honda.

He spent two disappointing seasons at LCR Honda where he, and even his illustrious brother Marc Marquez, were not equipped with the type of machinery that Ducati riders are currently profiting from.

He compared Honda to Ducati: "Well, in the end you go on the bike and it's not easy because you give the same, but having a better bike, instead of fighting for 15th, you are fighting for the podium. It's like that. 

“In the end the effort, the dedication, the concentration is exactly the same.”

Gresini Racing rider Marquez assessed the first two weekends of the MotoGP season: "We have achieved the pole, we have achieved a podium, it has been a top 5 in the sprint and if you ask me before coming [to Argentina] I would have signed on any paper, do have this weekend. I feel happy. 

“I missed the second position because Johann Zarco had a little more and that's it. We have to be positive for the future, because we are in constant progression.”

Short of winning his first-ever premier class race, as VR46’s Marco Bezzecchi has done, it has been a dream start to the year for Marquez who entered 2023 needing to justify his place among the world’s elite.

“I did not imagine it, is the truth,” he said. 

“It’s much better than I imagined and as I said at the beginning of the season. I think it is not the real position to be in the top four of the championship, in performance, where we are, I think we are more from five to eight, to be clear.”

BT Sport expert Sylvain Guintoli added: “He is a transformed rider. Or is he? No, the only thing that has transformed is his bike! He’s jumped on that Ducati and it’s a bike that works for him.

“He’s tall so it works for him, it’s a long bike.

“He posts competitive times, he’s doing great, in Portimao he fought for the top five. In Argentina he took risks. He’s definitely having fun, the most fun he’s had in years.”

The MotoGP Grand Prix of the Americas is this weekend.