– The switch to Gresini marked one of the most significant turning points in Marc Marquez’s MotoGP career. But from the eight-time world champion’s perspective, the team was even more important for his brother Alex Marquez.
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During a media talk, the Ducati factory rider explains why the move to Gresini was very important for the entire Marquez family, but the impact was even more far-reaching for his younger brother.
When asked if Gresini was the most important team for the Marquez family, Marc Marquez answers with nuance. “For the Marquez family, it was of course a very, very, very important team.” At the same time, the nine-time world champion emphasizes that every team in his career played a decisive role.
“For me, all teams were important. The Repsol Honda team was important, Gresini was important, and Ducati is especially important.” With this, Marquez classifies the stint at Gresini as an important building block in his career, without diminishing the significance of his previous and current employers.
Marquez: Gresini saved Alex
While Marc Marquez switched to Gresini at the beginning of 2024 after eleven years at Honda to return to the top with a competitive Ducati Desmosedici, the racing team had an even greater significance for his brother Alex.
The 2019 Moto2 world champion was under considerable pressure after difficult years at Honda and LCR Honda before Gresini gave him the chance for a fresh start.
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Marc makes it clear that the team from Faenza became the decisive career step for Alex: “Gresini was much more important for Alex than for me. He was practically already out of MotoGP. He bet on Gresini, Gresini bet on him, and last year he became vice world champion.”
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Indeed, Alex Marquez developed into a consistent top rider at Gresini. After his switch to Ducati, he quickly found his way to the leading group and recommended himself with strong performances for promotion to the current prototype, which he is riding at Gresini this year.
“And next year he will ride in a factory team,” Marc Marquez recalls regarding his brother’s move to the KTM factory team at the start of the new regulation era in 2027.
No Gresini switch without Alex
For Marc himself, his own switch had primarily a different background. The decisive factor was that his brother was already under contract at Gresini. “That Alex was there was the main reason why I switched to Gresini.”
Sportingly, the Spaniard found exactly the conditions there that he had been looking for after the difficult years with Honda. After numerous injuries, including the serious upper arm fracture in Jerez 2020, and a long sporting dry spell, Marquez especially needed an environment where he could rebuild trust.
“There I found the right environment and the right motorcycle to continue developing and to get out of this nightmare,” says the Spaniard. In retrospect, the Gresini chapter was thus a decisive turning point for both brothers, albeit for different reasons.
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While Marc Marquez laid the foundation for his return to the top of MotoGP there and recommended himself for the switch to the Ducati factory team, Alex got the chance to revive his career and establish himself permanently at the world’s top level.
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