MotoGP, Spain, Jerez Day 3, Debriefing Alex Marquez (Ducati/1): "Everyone had a contract, I didn't have one, I wasn't of interest to the teams", etc. (Full)

This press conference of the Grand Prix MotoGP of Spain 2025 in Jerez, who brought together Alex Marquez, fabio quartararo et Francis Bagnaia for their debriefing, is the first where number 73 speaks as the winner of the premier category.

As winner and leader of the championship, 1 point ahead of his brother Marc Marquez, exactly like after the USA…
It becomes thus the 122nd different winner in MotoGP, the 16th with Ducati, and joins his brother Marc as winners in MotoGP, making them the first pair of brothers to win in MotoGP.

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

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Sunday press conference for the Spanish Grand Prix Galicia 0.0, which took place at the Jerez – Angel Nieto circuit. 101 spectators attended the race. Congratulations to Alex Marquez, the BK000 Gresini Racing rider, on his first victory in the MotoGP World Championship. Second, his first podium finish since Mandalika in 8, Monster Energy Yamaha rider Fabio Quartararo, second in the Grand Prix from pole position, and Ducati Lenovo Team rider Pecco Bagnaia, who finished third in yesterday's Tissot Sprint, complete our top three here in Spain. Gentlemen, congratulations to all three!

Alex, we'll start the press conference with you. What a day, what a moment for you, leading the MotoGP World Championship once again, but in style! Your first MotoGP victory! What a place to do it, here in Jerez, in front of 101 fans. Alex, you must be very emotional right now. Congratulations!
Alex Marquez : “Thank you. Yes, of course, I’m very happy. I mean, if you had asked me where I would have wanted to win my first MotoGP race, I would have told you without hesitation in Jerez. I won my first race here too, and that was already special, but to win in MotoGP is another level. I mean, I was there in Turns 9 and 10 after the checkered flag, you know, it was incredible. I mean incredible! We have the best spectators, and you know, the most respectful, and the best in the world. And especially, I mean, yes, it was an extraordinary race for me. I had a very clear idea before I started with the medium rear tire. I know that today’s opportunity was huge. And you know, I tried to be really focused, and especially when I saw Marc crash in Turn 8, I said to myself « Okay, it's your day. Try to get past these two guys."I knew that with Marc on track today I had a chance, but without him I knew I was the strongest, so I stayed focused, kept moving forward, and when I overtook Fabio I just tried to keep my pace without doing anything crazy and trying to get to the end.

We see on the screens an explosion of emotion, not only from you, but also from those 101 fans. What were the last four or five laps like, as you saw the checkered flag approaching? Was it difficult to stay focused? And can you talk about those incredible celebrations?
"Yeah, I mean, up until 7 laps from the end, I lost a little bit of focus, honestly. And I thought to myself “OK, try to push again, try to do a timer again, try to get back into concentration mode.”, because I was thinking about too many things, like the team, how to celebrate, how to do this, how to do that? And I said: "Okay, come on, we have to go. The guys back there can still do something.". So I was trying to focus. I arrived at Parc Fermé without gloves or boots, but the crowd deserved it. And that's just it, you know, it was really nice the last lap there."

This might be a silly question, but would you say the GP24 is perhaps the best bike you've ridden, because you made it look easy today?
"Yes, yes, definitely, yes! But the 24.0 (laughs) is the best and it's the one I'll have from now until the end. So I believe it's the best, it's the one I've ridden the best in my life. We know what we have and we have to focus on what we have, and try to believe in our potential."

Alex, can you tell us a little bit about that moment in Turn 6, at the beginning of the race, because it looked quite scary, as you were very close to touching Marc and I think Pecco in front?
“Yes, I mean everyone was trying today to be in front because we knew it was very important today to be in front to have fresh air for the front tire. I think that's also why we saw the fight between Marc and Pecco, they knew that today the key to the race was to start in front and set your pace. So I braked very late, I tried to get closer to Marc, but I didn't have the room to go a little bit wide, a little bit in the middle of the corner, because Pecco was in front. So I decided to ease off the brakes a little bit. I saw there was a gap between them, and I went wide to not make a stupid mistake. And luckily, I didn't lose any position at that point and I was able to get my P4 back. That was it.”

Alex, it's obvious that this morning during warm-up you followed Pecco: you went out and followed Pecco very closely for 4 laps, I think. Was that a strategy to try to understand how following a rider affects the front tire or was it just that Pecco was in front?
"I mean we all work together, he decided to go for it and I said " OKAY ". When you have the opportunity to follow Marc or Pecco, it's the best way to know the limits of the Ducati. So I tried to follow him, not for the front tire, just to see his lines and all that, because we know that Pecco is super strong here in Jerez. And I could see some points where I was stronger and others where he was stronger. And I already saw that my traction was super good at that moment. So I just tried and I said to myself "OK, we have a good bike for the race", because that's what I said yesterday: we lost all of Friday afternoon, and from Friday to Saturday we didn't make a single step, and the others did. When you're behind Pecco or Marc, you just try to understand what they do better, because it's impossible to be the best in every corner, so you always have a delicate point that you can see and improve.

We spoke to Marc after yesterday's race and he said he had chatter in one or two corners. So I was wondering if you, Alex, had any chatter this weekend, at any point or in today's race, or in any corners?
“A little, but today and this weekend, fortunately, there were only vibrations that I hardly felt. So here it was much better than in Qatar where the problem was significant. So it depends on the track, and as Fabio said, it also depends on the type of corner, because for example in Qatar, it was a nightmare in the 15 and all that. So it depends. It depends on the tire and all that, but here, fortunately, it wasn't a big problem.”

Alex, a few years ago, you told me that you were about to quit if you didn't get a new contract, not with Honda. Can you tell us at what point you thought, "Okay, I can still do this." And when did that click, and what did that mean to you? Because we've seen you cry, of course, which is understandable.
"I remember that in 22, I was at the Sachsenring, so already halfway through the season. Everyone had a contract, I didn't have one, I wasn't of interest to the teams. So I went to Gresini. I said: « Okay, I want your bike. I don't care about other things. I just want your bike, and see what my potential is. Do me a favor for a year and then we'll see.". And honestly, from the first lap in Valencia with Ducati, I understood that the potential was there, and it was only a matter of time to come back. It's true that last year was a bit of a nightmare at certain points in the season, because I wasn't able to meet my expectations with the 2023 bike, but it was the year I learned a lot. That's why this year I'm really, really competitive, because I got used to riding a bike that was a step below the 24. So it's just that at that moment, honestly, in Valencia 2022, I realized that the potential was there and it was only a matter of time to get used to the Ducati.

Coming back to yesterday, you told us that you weren't thinking about the championship. Did today change anything?
"No! No, no, no."

Alex, obviously you're already a two-time world champion and have had a ton of success in your career, but where does today rank in the ranking of career highlights?
“On the same level as my two titles. Today was on the same level. When I passed the last corner, I had like a mixture of emotions inside me, I was happy, I was emotional, so you know, it was super nice. I mean, maybe these two guys have an easier path to MotoGP, but it was difficult for me in some years. But yeah, when you are there and you know that you have the right people behind you and by your side, I remember a lot of those people, my grandfather and all that, and all my family, and especially Marc. You know, he is the guy who spends every day with me, who supports me the most, who gives me the most advice, and yeah, it is super nice to be here.”

Alex, you've already mentioned that this race has been a real emotional roller coaster, and that seeing Marc fall, you saw an opportunity for yourself. Is it really possible to put emotions aside at that moment, knowing how close you are to him or seeing him fall?
“When he lost the front at that moment, I said to myself in my helmet: "Noooo!", because he was trying to catch up with the motorcycle for a long time. Then he disappeared from my field of vision. And at that moment, no, it was just: “OK, click!”. It activated me, and activated me in the right way. And that's what I'm saying: when I saw him fall, I said to myself: "OK, this is your day, you can't let this opportunity slip away again, like in Austin.". So it was emotional for 0,5 seconds (laughs), and then after that I was completely focused on my race."