For years, Alex Marquez carried a name as prestigious as it was burdensome. A two-time world champion in the intermediate categories even before reaching MotoGP, the Spaniard was nonetheless long presented as "Marc's brother" rather than as a rider in his own right. Today, after a 2025 season that changed his career, Alex believes he has finally found his own place at the top of the premier class.
Making your MotoGP debut is never easy. Making your debut in the wake of Marc Marquez, multiple world champion and absolute reference in the paddock, is even less so. Promoted to Honda in 2020 alongside his brother, Alex ultimately only shared one Grand Prix with him before the serious injury of Marc à JerezBut the absence of his older brother did not eliminate the comparisons. On the contrary.
Every result, every mistake, and every step forward was systematically evaluated against the backdrop of the achievements of MarcIn a video published by the official MotoGP website, Alex he speaks frankly about this period. The shadow of Marc, multiple world champion as he is, is very long. At first, it's true that I suffered a bit from this pressure »
The Spanish driver admits to having long approached his profession with the wrong mindset. I was overthinking things. I was trying to compare myself to him, and that wasn't the right approach."An understandable mistake, given how impossible it seemed for a young newcomer to the sport to overcome the gap between him and one of the greatest drivers in history."
With time, Alex He ended up completely changing his perspective. Rather than trying to compete with his brother in every detail, he decided to take advantage of a unique privilege: sharing his daily life with the best driver of his generation. There's no point in comparing ourselvesI simply need to focus on the positive aspects.I have the best example at home. »
Observe the working methods of Marc It then became a source of motivation rather than a burden. I saw that I was doing the same work at home as someone who wins in MotoGP. That gave me a lot of confidence. »
Alex Marquez: “ It was in 2025 that I felt I was stepping out of Marc's shadow and shining on my own. »
This turning point fully materialized during the 2025 season. At the handlebars of the Ducati GresiniAlex Marquez has reached a level that many no longer expected. With three victories, several podium finishes and a runner-up finish in the world championship, he has established himself as one of the strongest riders in the championship.
« This season has been truly uniqueI finished second in the championship and won my first MotoGP race. It was magical.More than the results themselves, it is their symbolic significance that remains etched in his mind. It was at that moment that I felt I was stepping out of Marc's shadow and shining on my own. »
Alex Marquez confirmed this new dimension from the very beginning of the following season by securing a fourth MotoGP victory at the Spanish Grand PrixHowever, its momentum was abruptly interrupted by a spectacular crash at the Catalan Grand PrixHaving suffered multiple fractures, many thought his season was over.
But true to his fighting spirit, he made his comeback just a month later at the Czech Republic Grand PrixFurther proof of the maturity acquired in recent seasons.
The next step in his career will be just as important. Starting in 2027, Alex Marquez will join the official team KTM, where he will team up with Fabio Di GiannantonioA new chapter that will offer him a status quite different from that of his beginnings.
He will no longer be seen as a young driver seeking legitimacy, but as a Grand Prix winner and a world vice-champion destined to play a major role in the development of the Austrian manufacturer.
The name Marquez will remain inseparable from that of Marc As long as he continues to write MotoGP history, this comparison is inevitable. But Alex seems to have found the best way to manage it: no longer trying to compete with his brother on his own turf, but building his own trajectory.
Few years ago, Alex Marquez He was presented as the youngest of an exceptional family. Today, he has become a rider capable of making a name for himself through his own results. And that is perhaps his greatest victory: having transformed a sometimes burdensome legacy into a source of inspiration, to the point of becoming a MotoGP icon himself.
