MotoGP, Italy Mugello Day 3, Debriefing Alex Marquez (Ducati/2): "Maybe for some people I won two titles in a Panini album", etc. (Full)

This press conference of the Grand Prix of Italy MotoGP 2025 gathered at Mugello Marc Marquez , Alex Marquez et Francis Bagnaia for their debriefing, after another perfect weekend for the #93 which won pole position, the Sprint and the GP.

Alex Marquez finished second, securing his sixth podium of the season and his first at Mugello. This is the fourth one-two finish Marquez (Marc-Alex) of the season so far.

As usual, we report here in full the words of the latter, without the slightest formatting, even if it is translated from English.

(I.e. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Sunday race press conference following the Brembo Italian Grand Prix here at Mugello.
Congratulations to our top three today!

The Ducati Lenovo team rider, Marc Márquez, sign the 93rd victory of his career for number 93, after a very intense start to the race against Pecco Bagnaia.
In second position in the Grand Prix, the driver Alex Marquez from the BK8 Gresini Racing team.
And finally, to complete the podium today, what place to do it than at its home Grand Prix, Fabio Di Giannantonio, driver of the Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team.

Congratulations to all three of you, gentlemen!

🎤 We come to Alex Marquez, who finished second. Alex, you had a great weekend, second yesterday in the sprint, second today in the Grand Prix: I think you said that you perhaps felt like you missed an opportunity to take points from Marc, so tell us about your race today…

“Yes, I’m really happy with our second place. Today it was important to give the maximum and especially not to make any mistakes. I mean, I had a really good start, and then during the race I tried to manage the tires like Marc did. But at that moment I saw that he was starting to fight quite hard with Pecco, and at that moment I thought, ‘OK, I don’t want to get into that battle, I want to wait a little bit to save some energy,’ but then when I saw that the pace was quite slow, I would say, for overtaking, and I had the opportunity, I thought, ‘OK, now I have to go.’ When I passed Pecco in Turn 3, I thought, ‘Now get your rhythm going.’” I knew I would have to pay for that in the last laps, but at that moment, my strategy was to push on that lap and be in the lead, also for the front tire. And yeah, I did it pretty well, but Marc was better than us. I mean, like I said, it was a circuit where, before coming here, I knew it was a good opportunity to take more points than him, but he was better than us. But you know, for the championship, we were better than Pecco, we have more points in the championship, so we took this second place in the championship in a very positive way, but we have to stay focused. So it was a very positive weekend for us.

🎤 You failed yourself contact Pecco after his collision with Marc. How close was it? It seemed really close…

"Very close, and above all very risky, because I didn't expect this contact between Pecco and Marc at all. At that moment, I saw Pecco slow down very suddenly. I raised the bike to avoid contact, and I also managed to overtake Pecco at that point. And yes, fortunately, nothing happened, that's the most important thing."

🎤 Alex, yesterday Pedro Acosta said that the two Márquez brothers are a cut above the rest, and that Pecco is the first of the "normal" riders. Do you now consider yourself a rider who is no longer "normal"? And have you had any problems with the front tire?

"I simply consider myself Alex Márquez, the same as before. Have I improved this year? Yes! But first of all, I want to thank Pedro if he said that. It's always nice to hear that kind of thing from a great rider.
For my part, I just try to do my job as best I can, I always give 100%. So no, I don't consider myself an exceptional or magical driver. I stay true to myself, I work, I try to do things well, and I have a good package around me. All the elements are there to have a great season."

🎤 And regarding the front tire, did you experience any difficulties?

“A little bit, yes. Compared to others, I perhaps suffer a little more when I am behind another rider. I tried to stay close to Marc for two or three laps, but at that point, I started to experience some difficulties. So I said to myself: “OK, I need to take a little distance to avoid suffering more, making a mistake… or falling.” So I preferred to maintain this gap and manage the race until the finish."

🎤 Alex, when you find yourself in a fight like today against Marc and Pecco, do you have to ride differently against each of them, because of their riding style, their championship position… or the fact that one of them is your brother?

“No, no! It depends on the moment of the race, but you know, until the moment I attacked, I hadn't had a really clear opportunity to overtake them. But when Pecco made a mistake in the last corner, they were side by side on the straight, and I was able to benefit from a very good slipstream, because otherwise, for some reason, it was difficult for me to overtake them. At that moment, I said to myself: “Okay, it's now or never. You have the opportunity, go for it.”
Pecco was a little better than me in the first corner, but I took back the position in turn 3.
But you know, at that point, it was a battle that, for me, served no purpose other than to degrade the tires and waste energy. But that was my strategy, and depending on the driver, the strategies are different."

(I.e. Do you think Marc and the GP25 are a perfect duo? Do you have the strength and the machine to fight for the title, or are you just going to do your best and maybe hope for Marc to retire?

“Well, fighting for the championship against a rider like Marc is never easy. He has the factory bike, and you have to remember that I'm in an independent team with last year's bike. That's the first thing.
But then, it's Marc! He's world champion, it's not for nothing, it's not a title that you stick in a Panini album (laughs). So maybe for some people, I won two titles in a Panini album, but that's not the case, obviously. So there you go, it's always difficult to fight against him.
My strong point is being consistent and not making mistakes. And like I said, when I have the opportunity to beat him or win against him, I take it and try.
Some say: “You don’t attack it the same way.”. But when a driver is faster than you, you can't! You attack those in front when they are slower. When they are faster, you simply don't have the opportunity to overtake them.
So I'm going to keep doing my best, building my championship, being present at every race, doing my job. And then we'll see what the result is."

(I.e. I wanted to ask you a question about the crowd's whistles during the podium: what do you think? How did you feel when, yesterday, Davide Tardozzi addressed the audience to say “Stop, it’s a pilot in red” ?

"I have to say that people are free to say what they think, but the most important thing for me is to be on the podium, finish the job, and move on."

🎤 If you had to describe your feeling with the motorcycle in one word?
"Fluid. "