As his brother Marc nears the 2025 MotoGP world title, Alex Marquez remains locked in a fierce contest for the runner-up position. The Gresini Ducati rider has maintained second place in the championship standings for much of the season, despite trailing Marc by 175 points.
However, Alex has experienced a downturn in form recently, collecting only 19 points across the last three rounds at Brno, Red Bull Ring, and Balaton Park. This is a noticeable drop compared to his 34-point haul at Jerez and the 29 points he scored during multiple runner-up finishes at Buriram, Termas, COTA, Aragon, and Mugello.
The Pressure from Competitors Closing In
This dip in Alex’s results might have allowed his teammate Francesco Bagnaia to close the gap, but Bagnaia, riding for the factory Ducati team, has also faced challenges in recent races and remains 52 points behind Alex with eight rounds remaining. Meanwhile, Aprilia’s Marco Bezzecchi has gained momentum, amassing 67 points in the last three events and narrowing the gap to Bagnaia to 31 points. KTM’s Pedro Acosta has had a similar scoring trend as Bezzecchi but is still positioned another 33 points back.
Alex Marquez’s Outlook on His Main Rivals
Alex continues to view Francesco Bagnaia as his primary challenger for second place in the championship. Speaking at Balaton Park, he said,
“At this moment Pecco, because he’s more close than Bezzecchi,”
— Alex Marquez, MotoGP rider
He also acknowledged Bezzecchi’s speed throughout the season, explaining,
“But Bezzecchi has been super fast from the beginning of the season, he was just missing the qualifying. And it’s true that in the last races, he has been also quite fast in the qualifying. So it will be interesting to see how fast he can recover.”
— Alex Marquez, MotoGP rider
Alex remains cautiously observant regarding Aprilia’s development, adding,
“But still I feel that Pecco is the opponent for second in the championship, but it will be interesting also to see Bezzecchi and Aprilia, how they develop.”
— Alex Marquez, MotoGP rider
Despite Bagnaia and Bezzecchi competing on the latest factory machines, Alex’s own GP24 Ducati bike remains unchanged this season. He noted,
“The base that we have is more or less the same now.”
— Alex Marquez, MotoGP rider
Impact of Manufacturer Changes on Rider Performances
Alex highlighted that numerous rider transfers this season, particularly at Aprilia and KTM, have influenced the pace of these teams early on. He remarked,
“I think this year can be a strange situation, because many riders have changed manufacturers. I think for that reason Aprilia in the beginning were not fast with Bezzecchi. Because they were missing the qualifying, but on race pace, they were already super fast.”
— Alex Marquez, MotoGP rider
Regarding KTM, he added,
“For the KTMs, with Enea [Bastianini], with Maverick [Vinales], from the moment KTM did a step with Maverick, all the other KTM riders made a step. These are things that create the atmosphere of being fast.”
— Alex Marquez, MotoGP rider
Alex remains hopeful that incremental improvements could keep him competitive, stating,
“It will be interesting if we can improve a little bit, but if not, I think we have a good base and I think if we put everything together – like we did during all the weekend in Austria until Sunday – we are able to fight for podiums.”
— Alex Marquez, MotoGP rider
What Lies Ahead in the Championship Battle
With eight rounds still to be contested, Alex Marquez aims to maintain his position by limiting points lost to his closest rivals. To secure a one-two finish alongside Marc Marquez in the world championship, Alex will need to lose no more than an average of 6.5 points per weekend to Francesco Bagnaia, 10.4 to Marco Bezzecchi, and 14.5 to Pedro Acosta. The ongoing competition sets the stage for an intense and unpredictable fight as the season progresses.
