“Mr P2” Alex Marquez takes MotoGP title lead: “I'd have said, 'You're crazy!'”
Marc Marquez crashes out, but brother Alex extends his podium streak and takes the MotoGP title lead for the first time in Texas.
One Marquez streak ended with Marc crashing out of the MotoGP race lead at COTA on Sunday, but brother Alex Marquez extended his runner-up record to six out of six so far this season.
His reward was to take the world championship lead for the first time in his premier-class career.
The Gresini rider started the race strongly, holding second in the early laps before being passed by his brother’s factory Ducati team-mate Francesco Bagnaia.
When Marc fell on lap 9, Alex moved up a place, eventually crossing the finish line just two seconds behind Bagnaia.
“If you said to me before the first race, ‘You will be leading the championship’ I would have said, ‘You're crazy!’“ smiled Alex.
“We are 'Mr P2', but I'm happy with that! I don't have any problem making P2 from here until the end.
“We need to enjoy the moment. We know what we have, we need to approach every race like we are doing and try to extract the 100% potential. I will try to keep going like this.”
“Last year’s bike leading the championship is amazing”
While Alex’s championship lead is another personal milestone, he struggled more at COTA than in the previous two rounds.
“If we compare my performance in Thailand, Argentina, and here, this was the worst in terms of feeling and how I was approaching all the corners," he explained.
“After the first few laps, I saw they were going faster than me. I had a big moment losing the front at Turn 10, and said, ‘OK, today we need to be third. We need to be really calm.’
“Then when I saw Marc crashing, I said, ‘OK, pay attention.’
“I’m really, really happy with how we are managing everything, how we are really consistent in the top three. That’s exactly what we need to keep doing.
“But above all, we need to enjoy this moment because, for an independent team, running last year’s bike and leading the championship is something really, really amazing.”
Alex - who won two Sprints in 2023 but is yet to take a Sunday MotoGP win - is now a single point clear of Marc heading into round four in Qatar.
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.
