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The Spanish MotoGP rider Álex Márquez, in an Estrella Galicia 0,0 event. – Oscar J. Barroso / AFP7 / Europa Press
“The day Marc made the decision to go to Gresini he was not happy, he was leaving Honda, his dream team and his comfort zone”
MADRID, 4 Nov. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Spanish MotoGP rider Álex Márquez (Ducati) maintains that sharing a box at Gresini starting next season with his brother, Marc Márquez, “is going to be positive and a very good opportunity” for him, after the “difficult” decision of the eight-time world champion to leave Honda, “his dream team” and “his comfort zone”, to face a “risky change”.
“It has been a very good year, on a personal level and, above all, to put ourselves back in the category, being very competitive. It has not been an easy year, in some aspects, because the speed has been there, but the results, for many factors, they have not finished arriving. We have made a podium and we have won a ‘Sprint’ race, but you always want something more,” the man from Cervera evaluated his season so far in an interview with Europa Press at an event organized by Estrella Galicia 0.0.
After three seasons racing for Honda in MotoGP – the first, in 2020, in the official team, and then in the LCR -, the youngest Márquez decided to leave the structure and head to Gresini Racing. A bet with which he is happy, despite the “ups and downs”, in a first year with a podium in Argentina and a victory in the Silverstone ‘Sprint’.
“As a rider, I don’t think I’ve improved that much or changed that much. It’s true that you improve, but when you have a competitive bike and you’re in a team where they help you, it makes that leap in quality come naturally. “And the Ducati has given me that, always being there, being competitive. It has been a positive year, but you have to have perseverance, which is something that does not worry me, because speed is what is difficult, perseverance comes by itself.” , he analyzed.
And his pleasant experience with the Ducati will take a turn next season, with the arrival of his brother Marc to the Italian team, after 11 years at Honda. “The faster your teammate is, the more you improve. And that healthy punch that can exist inside the box is something that can be very positive for both of you,” he said, although he recalled that the teammate “is the first rival,” because ” “There is always someone who wants to lead or have better results.”
“MARC HAS REMOVED A WEIGHT OFF HIM”
“It’s going to be positive, it’s a very good opportunity for me, apart from how nice and sentimental it may be to share a team with your brother. I see it as an opportunity to grow as a driver and between the two of us reach the end of the year being able to fight for triumphs”, wished the two-time world champion in Moto3 (2014) and Moto2 (2019).
Asked about his brother’s decision to leave Honda, Álex Márquez confessed that “he needed a change”, although opting for Gresini, “an independent team, a ‘small’, family team”, is “risky”. “His comfort zone was Honda, he had a very good contract, he was settled and somehow there you know that you are not missing anything,” he explained about the relationship between the eight-time world champion and the Japanese brand.
“A weight has been lifted from your shoulders. When you make an important decision and you are hesitating for so long, what does Honda promise you, what do I have there, what do I have here, it is something that as a driver does not help you to be 100% focused on the races. , it always weighs. And after 11 years, the emotional part was the most difficult for him. The day he made the decision he was not happy, he was not happy, he left his friends, he left the team of his dreams,” he added about the time to make a “difficult decision.”
However, he celebrated seeing his brother “much more relaxed” and “every day more convinced that the decision is the right one”, although Álex Márquez believes that it will be “time” that will determine whether this is the case. “It will be correct if he fights for championships again. But I am sure that he will be competitive again and that he will enjoy riding the bike again, because it is what makes you go fast and win races,” he predicted.
Finally, Álex Márquez pointed out that “of course” he sees the also Spanish Jorge Martín (Ducati) with options to win the title, although in the satellite team Prima Pramac Racing, against the Italian ‘Pecco’ Bagnaia (Ducati), in the official team and with an advantage over the Madrid player of 13 points. “If there is someone who is very impartial in that and who likes the rider to win on the track, it is Gigi (Luigi Dall’Igna, Ducati CEO),” he revealed.
“He is a person who surprised me a lot from the first moment. He is reserved, but when you get to know him, he is very open and wants the best to win. It is true that Ducati may have a little more favoritism for the official team, it is natural , but they are going to let them run until the last moment, they are going to have the same weapons and the best one is going to win. That is also nice, to see how with the same bike the one who is going to win is going to be the one who has been something more complete as a pilot,” he concluded.
2023-11-04 09:10:16
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