EXCLUSIVE - GP24 “love at first sight” for Alex Marquez in MotoGP transformation

Two years ago, Alex Marquez was fighting to save his MotoGP career. Now, he’s fighting for the world championship.

The Gresini rider’s breakthrough season includes a debut MotoGP win at Jerez, which also put him on top of the standings.

Older brother Marc soon turned the tables, but Gresini team manager Michele Masini is in no doubt that Alex is currently “the second strongest rider on the grid”.

After a rocky start to MotoGP life at Repsol Honda in 2020, then two bruising seasons at LCR, Alex joined Gresini and Ducati in 2023, instantly reviving his fortunes with two podiums and a pair of Sprint wins.

But the #73’s momentum was halted by the GP23 last season, a machine only new team-mate Marc was able to master, before ‘love at first sight’ with the GP24 at last November’s Barcelona test.

“Love at first sight”

Masini explained that while Alex made progress on last year’s GP23, designed around an earlier generation of Michelin tyre, it never quite suited his style.

“At the beginning of the year [2024], we had some - let me say - not technical issues, because the bike worked very well, it was Francesco Bagnaia’s winning bike, but it did not match really well with the riding style of Alex,” Masini told Crash.net at Silverstone.

“But we found some solutions, also comparing and sharing data with Marc and with the other Ducati riders, to improve our performance with this package.

“Then as soon as we tried the GP24 for the first time in the Barcelona test, it was like love at first sight for Alex.

“He was leading the winter tests, and I remember in the Thailand test I said only one thing to Alex: ‘You don't have to change nothing, just continue like that because you have everything in your hands.’”

“Alex is the second strongest rider on the grid”

Despite a dream winter, even Masini was surprised to see Alex on top of the world championship, twice so far, after COTA and Jerez.

“Maybe I didn’t think we would lead the world championship, but I did realise that we could fight every single race for the podium,” he said. “And I have to say, that in this moment, Alex is the second strongest rider on the grid.”

Alex currently splits the factory Ducatis of Marc and Francesco Bagnaia at the top of the standings. 

He is also just five points short of his previous best season total, with two-thirds of the campaign still to run.

For Masini, the roots of Alex’s current success stretch back to last season.

“It’s really tough to compete in a team where on the other side you have Marc Marquez, even if he’s your brother. But in the end, it’s all about how to solve your problems, inside a garage where we can share everything,” Masini said.

“After the practices, we talk all together with the riders and the engineers. This is one of the things that maybe some factories didn't have inside their garage. Because sometimes it’s kind of a split garage. So we use this support to grow.”

Masini added that Alex’s history shows he thrives with continuity.

“If you look back at his career, he always arrived at the goal [title] in Moto3 after a couple of years, in Moto2 after a couple of years. He’s a rider who needs stability and to be confident with the team, and this helped him to reach success.”

First MotoGP win was “around the corner”

For Gresini, Alex’s debut premier-class victory in Jerez was increasingly a matter of when, not if.

“We knew that the first win was around the corner. It did not change his mentality, but it maybe gave us all a boost to compete at the highest level,” Masini said.

“I have to say also, despite the double crash in the Le Mans race, the important thing at the end is that we are always fast in every condition.

“We are always near the top. So it's all in our hands, what we do.

“Sometimes everybody can make a mistake. But the important thing is that our feeling is really, really strong at the moment.”

“People need to re-evaluate the career of Alex”

Masini also believes it’s time for a reassessment of Alex’s credentials, while giving a glimpse of how he operates behind closed doors.

“I think many people need to re-evaluate the sporting career of Alex. Because sometimes people don't remember that he’s a two-time world champion,” Masini said.

“This is the third year that I've worked with Alex and he’s a really kind and good boy because he’s always thinking about the others - the mechanics, the team - and this is so amazing in a rider,” he said.

“Because as a rider, you don't have to be so kind, because it's a strange job. But Alex is the complete opposite of an ‘angry rider’. It's enjoyable to work with him.

“But also when things go wrong, he loses his smile. So it’s easy to understand what he’s thinking and when we need to give him a hug. 

"Everything is transparent between us, and the limit of what we can achieve together is very high.”