Gresini Ducati’s Alex Marquez is aiming to build on the experience he accumulated during the 2025 MotoGPseason as he prepares for the 2026 campaign. Last year marked his best performance yet, finishing second in the riders’ championship, which fuels his confidence for the challenges ahead. Marquez’s MotoGP preparation this year focuses heavily on translating last season’s lessons into consistent top-level results.
Recap of a Breakthrough Season and Its Challenges
In 2025, Marquez secured three Grand Prix wins, stood on the podium 12 times, and claimed three Sprint race victories. Prior to that, he had only five MotoGP podium finishes, making last year’s achievements a significant step forward. Facing situations new to him throughout the season, Marquez gained valuable insights that he believes will now put him in a stronger position to contest for wins regularly in 2026.
Learning from Past Mistakes to Improve Consistency
Marquez reflected on the steep progress he made from the 2024 to 2025 seasons, acknowledging that in many cases he lacked the experience to handle race situations perfectly. He stated,
“I feel more prepared because last year the step that we did from 2024 to 2025 was quite huge and many situations I approached last year I didn’t have the experience to approach the situations in a good way,”
at the pre-event press conference during the Thai Grand Prix. He added that simply repeating the success of 2025 would be a solid achievement but admitted he desires to push beyond that.
Marquez emphasized the importance of maintaining the right mindset, explaining,
Image of: Alex Marquez
“We need to not change the mentality, go race-by-race and then try to extract the potential in every track. It will be difficult in 22 races to be the fastest one in all the tracks, but for that reason I say that the consistency will be the key.”
Confronting Mental Struggles Experienced Last Season
Midway through 2025, Marquez recognized that overthinking the championship race led to a dip in his performance, particularly in the Czech Republic, Austria, and Hungary. He explained,
“I think some situations that I had last year, I didn’t have the experience of the past, to fight for a MotoGP world title, or to fight against Marc [Marquez], or to fight against some rivals that I was watching them [from] quite far in the last seasons, until 2025,”
reflecting on his challenges.
He admitted that focusing too much on the title chase caused mistakes, noting,
“So, it was a little bit strange, and I think that in one moment of the season I was just thinking too much on the championship and not to take all the profit from the bike.”
This led to errors in Brno, Red Bull Ring, and Balatonring, which he intends to avoid this year by drawing on past experiences. Marquez stated,
“That I think is the mistakes that I did in the past, I will try to solve it this year but hopefully we will be in the same situation and then I will have the opportunity to take profit of that experience.”
He highlighted the need to perform strongly early in the season to maintain his competitiveness:
“But to arrive to that point we need to [get] our job done in the first part of the season and try to have the same level as last year.”
Test Performances and Uncertain Season Outlook
In recent testing, Marquez demonstrated speed by posting the fastest times in Sepang and leading the non-Aprilia group in Buriram. Despite this, he remains cautious about predicting the 2026 hierarchy, stating,
“A race weekend will show us where we are exactly – to everybody.”
He further explained the difference between testing and race conditions:
“I think a test is one thing, and later on in the race weekend you will see the reality [when] everybody is putting 100 per cent on-track. Not just after this race weekend, after three or four races, we will see where we are and for what we can fight this year.”
The Road Ahead: What 2026 May Hold for Marquez
Alex Marquez steps into the 2026 MotoGP season carrying the weight of past experiences, eager to transform them into a consistent title challenge. His focus on mental steadiness and a race-by-race approach underlines his intention to avoid previous pitfalls. While his early testing results are promising, the true competition landscape will become clearer only as the season unfolds. For fans and teams alike, Marquez’s commitment to continuous improvement signals a potentially thrilling title fight ahead.
