Alex Marquez's judgement on factory Ducatis using '24 engine
"It will be more equal"
Alex Marquez understands why the factory Ducati team has reverted to the GP24 engine and thinks the decision can be ‘a good thing’ for him personally.
After braking issues with an updated GP25 engine in testing, Alex’s brother Marc Marquez and Lenovo team-mate Francesco Bagnaia will keep last year’s powerplant for the upcoming two-year MotoGP engine freeze.
The pair, plus VR46’s Fabio di Giannantonio, will also initially race with the GP24 chassis and aero.
That means all six Ducatis - the factory-spec GP25s plus satellite-spec GP24s of Alex Marquez, Fermin Aldeguer and Franco Morbidelli - will start this season closer than ever in specification.
“It’s a good thing [for me] because we can compare a little bit and it will be more equal,” said Gresini rider Alex.
“I hope during the season they will not improve a lot! Because we have what we have now until the end.
“But apart from that, the 2024 bike is really nice to ride and it’s difficult to improve upon it.
“Also, they can’t take the risk to decide on [a new] engine for 2025 and 2026 if they don’t see clearly [the advantages].
“It’s better to keep the 2024 that you know is working really well.”
Alex has excelled on the GP24 in winter testing, setting the fastest lap at Barcelona and Sepang, then finishing second to his brother at Buriram.
Marc Marquez was the only Ducati rider to win races on a year-old bike last season, while team-mate to Alex at Gresini.
The 2025 world championship begins at Buriram on February 28.
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.
