Marc Marquez explains why he ‘won’t refer to Alex Marquez as my brother’ in 2026

Reigning MotoGP world champion Marc Marquez says Alex Marquez “will be my main rival” in the 2026 title battle, and will no longer “refer to him as my brother”.

The 32-year-old romped to a seventh premier class world title last season with the factory Ducati squad, winning 11 grands prix and 14 sprints in total.

It marked his first championship in six years and his ninth overall, drawing him level with former foe Valentino Rossi.

The Marquez family achieved an historic 1-2 in the standings, too, as Alex Marquez scored three victories to finish runner-up in the championship - 78 points behind his older brother.

Alex Marquez’s form on the Gresini-run GP24 has earned him a factory bike promotion for the 2026 season.

As such, Marc Marquez has labelled his younger brother as his main rival for the 2026 season.

However, he believes Alex Marquez’s achievements this year merit greater respect from him, which is why he will not “refer to him as my brother”.

"Well, Alex will be my main rival from the start; he'll have a GP26,” he said at an Estrella Galicia event in November.

“He's proven he's capable of anything, but without forgetting all the other rivals, the other brands that are dominating.

“Next year, my brother Alex will be my main rival from the start.

“That's not going to change how we do things.

“The only way to improve things will be to switch positions, for the good of Gresini and to the detriment of the official Ducati team.

“I won't refer to him as my brother, but as Alex Marquez: runner-up in the world championship and capable of anything.

“He's capable of leading any team.

“This year, I'd choose the fact that it was the season in which two brothers were champion and runner-up over my comeback season.”

Marc Marquez missed the final four rounds of the 2025 season after suffering a complicated shoulder injury in a collision with Aprilia’s Marco Bezzecchi at the Indonesian Grand Prix.

The Ducati rider underwent surgery a week after the injury, but his recovery is progressing well ahead of an expected return to action at the Sepang test in February.