I followed in Marc Marquez’s footsteps - but I need more belief

A win at the Hungarian Grand Prix saw David Alonso follow in the footsteps of a number of elite Moto2 riders, including Marc Marquez.

Alonso became the first rookie winner since Pedro Acosta in 2022 with his win at Balaton Park.

Marc Marquez also achieved a first-year Moto2 win back in 2011 at the French Grand Prix.

Marquez almost went on to win the intermediate class title at his first attempt, but a crash in qualifying at the penultimate race of the season in Malaysia forced him out of the final two races with diplopia.

Marc Marquez proteges also won in Hungary

Marquez was joined by both Alonso and Maximo Quiles (Quiles won the Moto3 race in Hungary) in parc ferme after his seventh MotoGP win in succession.

Marquez was not among strangers in this instance. Quiles, for example, has been under Marquez’s tutelage for much of his racing career, while Alonso has also taken on advice from Marquez in the past.

The Ducati Lenovo Team rider also urged people to not put pressure on Alonso when the Colombian made history en route to the 2024 Moto3 title by winning 14 races in a single grand prix season.

“Next year he will do some mistakes in Moto2, but don’t put a lot of pressure on him because he is super young,” Marquez said after Alonso wrapped up the lightweight title in Japan last October.

Indeed, the first part of the season was difficult for Alonso, with no points until round three and no top-10 until round seven.

“This half of the year I have learned a lot,” Alonso told TNT Sports after winning in Hungary.

“It is necessary for the future – races where you understand few things, and you struggle – to become stronger as a person.

“We started to work in our own way. I was working for the first victory and now I am more relaxed.”

Alonso added that he needs to have more faith in his own abilities.

“Sometimes I need to believe more in [myself],” he said.

“I need to say thanks to the team and to my family.

“Sometimes I need more belief, without thinking too much, and just go. In this race, I could do it.

“I was in a bubble. I didn’t know how many laps [were left].

“The first time I saw the board, there were two laps to go. But I didn’t see anything, I was just riding.”

Front chatter has been a visible characteristic of Alonso’s bike for most of the season, and it was again the case in Hungary.

The Colombian made a mistake on the front end at the end of the final lap, running wide on entry to the final chicane before the last turn. He held onto the lead, of course, and assured afterwards the everything was “under control”.

“It was more or less under control,” he said.

“I was enjoying the braking points. I like how the bike stops.

“What I like the most? It wasn’t like a Moto2 race, it was like I was just at home training.”

It had been a victory that was unexpected, Alonso conceded, after qualifying eighth and struggling off the line – he was 11th at the end of lap one.

The Colombian said that the Aspar team had rallied around him on Saturday after qualifying.

“I was really down, the team helped me a lot, because I finished eighth in qualifying,” he said.

“I [knew I would] lose places because I don’t start well in Moto2.

“I said ‘victory is impossible’, I was down. The team helped me a lot.

“The sun came out again! Sometimes the start is not what you expect.”