“I need to go for it!”: Alex Marquez beats Marc in Sepang test ‘Sprint’
“I saw Marc's. It was super fast. So I said, ‘Okay I need to go for it’.”
Fastest on his GP24 debut in last November’s Barcelona test, Alex Marquez repeated the feat by ruling the timesheets at the end of the three-day Sepang MotoGP test.
But Marquez wasn’t only quick over a single lap.
In a performance that will prompt Ducati to question the effectiveness of the latest GP25 parts - and perhaps even revert to the GP24 engine - Alex also beat the 10-lap Sprint simulation pace by factory stars Francesco Bagnaia and, his brother, Marc Marquez.
“Really positive third day,” Alex grinned. “The first two were really good, but this one was even better. Overall, we did a really great job.
“The one lap is always important, because to be there with a time attack [means] the bike is responding when you are demanding and asking for more from it.
“But especially, the rhythm that we have. The Sprint simulation was super good.”
Alex had finished 5.6s behind Marc as a team-mate on GP23s in last November’s Malaysian Grand Prix Sprint.
This time he was 0.2s quicker than Marc at the end of 10 laps, on the GP24.
Asked if he was happier with the Sprint simulation than leading the one-lap timesheets, Alex replied:
“Yeah! I was in the box and I saw Pecco’s [simulation]. Later on I saw Marc’s and I said ‘he’s pushing!’ It was super fast. So I said, ‘Okay I need to go for it’.
“So I pushed hard. We were really close and in the end, after 10 laps, I was 0.2 faster than him!”
Marc ‘congratulated’ his brother with a middle finger on his return to the pits, repeating the ongoing joke from Barcelona about which brother will finish ahead.
“It's nice to make a simulation and be constant and fast,” Alex added.
“Everything looks nice, but it’s Sepang. I love this track and I've always been fast here.”
He joked: “If we can make a world championship here, all 22 races, it would be perfect for me!
“But we were first also in Montmelo. We were solid there. Thailand is a track that I quite like also so we'll see how we are there and how fast the factory [guys] put everything together.
“When all the factories put everything together, from all the 100 pieces that they are trying, we’ll see where we are.
“So keep calm, go to Thailand to see how we are there.”
But the 28-year-old admitted his confidence is already sky-high on the GP24, compared to last year’s woes with the GP23.
“With the ‘23, from 0 to 10, the confidence was 7, always. With this [GP24] it’s 9, so this is important,” he said.
“We struggled a lot last year with the 23 bike but also when you're struggling, you learn much more. So all the things we learned last year will be a good tool for us to make 2025 great.”
Agreeing that the GP24 is the best MotoGP bike he’s ridden, Marquez explained:
“The GP22 also was super cool. So it looks like [the GP24] is the sister or the brother - however you want to say it - of the GP22 and it’s super nice to ride.”
Alex celebrated two podiums, a pole and a Sprint victory on the GP22.
Franco Morbidelli backed up Marquez’s GP24 performances with fourth on the Sepang timesheets, although the Italian’s Sprint simulation was a long way off the #73.
Marquez’s rookie team-mate Fermin Aldeguer was 11th fastest with a Sprint run averaging 1m 58.580s versus the 1m 57.901s by Alex.
Marc Marquez’s average pace during his Sprint sim was 1m 57.930s and Bagnaia 58.243s, on the factory-spec GP25s.
The Buriram test takes place on Wednesday and Thursday.
Peter has been in the paddock for 20 years and has seen Valentino Rossi come and go. He is at the forefront of the Suzuki exit story and Marc Marquez’s injury issues.
