“Wow” factor: Alex Marquez explains why he’s so much faster with Ducati GP24
MotoGP leader Alex Marquez credits Ducati GP24's versatility for his breakthrough start to the 2025 season.
MotoGP championship leader Alex Marquez says Ducati’s GP24 gave him an immediate "wow" factor from his very first laps aboard the machine at last November's Barcelona test.
“When I tried it for the first time in Catalunya, it was like ‘wow’ this bike is super nice to ride,” Alex explained.
“On the first day with a new bike you can be really fast in one lap but not on consistency, because you don't know how the bike will react and all that.
“But I was able to be fast on one lap, fast on consistency and already understood what the bike will do.”
The confidence gained from that initial test continued during pre-season testing, then the opening rounds, when Alex secured seven runner-up finishes in a row.
“We carried on the tendency of the first test to all the pre-season tests and kept growing. The GP24 is giving me the confidence I need to ride as I want, as my style is,” he said.
After a blip with sixth, due to incidents and penalties in Qatar, the 29-year-old rebounded with second in the Jerez Sprint and then a milestone victory in the grand prix.
To put his performances into perspective, Alex only took one podium finish, a third place, during the entire 2024 season on the trickier GP23. He is already on the verge of beating his entire points haul from the 2023 and 2024 (Sprint) seasons.
The Gresini rider, who takes a one-point title lead over brother Marc - on the latest factory GP25 - into this weekend’s Le Mans round, explained that the versatile nature of the GP24 means it can work with lots of riding styles.
“I don't need to adapt a lot to the bike because this bike is quite natural and adapting a lot to all the styles of all [the riders]… It's a really complete bike.
“So if you want to push on the braking. It’s there. If you are a rider who likes more the flow, or you like more to go on the gas also it’s there.”
Ducati is unbeaten for the last five years at Le Mans, winning with five different riders.
Victory by any Ducati rider on Sunday will also set a new MotoGP record of 23 Grand Prix wins in a row
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.
