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The season’s over, and it’s time to take stock, so Estrella Galicia decided to reunite the two Marquez brothers and have them talk about Alex’s debut in the MotoGP. That’s how we discovered a Marc who, from being a rider sitting on his couch, turned into a fan and a race advisor for his brother.
“It’s been an unusual year in everything, especially for me,” Marc explained. “I couldn’t even race, just one race, in Jerez, and the mood was strange. When Alex came home from racing, we talked about it. You miss all the fans. The paddock often overwhelms you, but you miss that atmosphere. It has been an abnormal year, especially for me, due to the injury, but it has been worldwide.”
Marc promoted Alex.
“I think he was remarkable, because he managed to get two podiums in his first season and in a year during which there was a quarantine. We were at a standstill for a long time. Even I, who have experience in the category, noticed that it’s one thing to do winter tests and then the first race, it’s another to be without a bike for a long time, and then suddenly start racing. It’s the progress that makes a difference: if you start well and then go down, it’s bad. If you start from the bottom and go up, then it’s fine. Honestly, I didn’t expect a podium from Alex. Sometimes he would say to me: ‘Well, I’ll get a podium when it’s wet.’ And I’d say to him: ‘Yeah, yeah’,” he said jokingly. “Of course, you have to say ‘yes’, but I didn’t expect it and, when he got it at Le Mans. It was a great result, but I think the result at Aragon was much more important. The two races in Aragón, and then the one in Portimao, finishing in the top ten, showed this progress.”
Alex also revealed how his brother helped from home.
“In a year when there were no fans on the track, I had a fan at home who supported me, who sent me videos, whom I could call. That support like a crazy fan was also fun and, when there were good results, but also bad ones, he encouraged me to keep looking ahead. In a season where there have been ups and downs, as a rookie, it’s important. I’d give him the tire choices to keep him calm, because otherwise...,” he said laughing.
Marc then teased him: “I would have liked to have been in Le Mans or Aragon.” The confrontation is postponed till next year. Marc tried to think about what it’ll be like if he ends up battling it out with his brother.
“Obviously, if you think about it now, you’d say: ‘I won’t ever overtake him anyway’, but once you’re there, you have to overtake him just like the others,” he explained. “And if it’s the last lap, you have to try. I don’t like talking about rivalry with my brother. But, like what happens with the Playstation, it’s better if I win than him.”
“He was making teasing me, because he’s always been one for fast corners, and I’ve always been one for slow corners,” Marc continued. “I told him: ‘This thing with Honda will change.’ And, in the end, he agreed with me. Sometimes, your strengths are different from those of your bike and you have to adapt.”
Finally, Alex spoke of 2021, a year in which he’ll still race with Honda but in the LCR team.
“I think a change of team will do me good,” he explained. “Or, at least, I hope so. That’s why I also accepted this challenge. I’ve always said: ‘It’s not a step back for me, it’s a step forward, to continue training and make progress and become a more complete rider in the MotoGP. There are still a thousand things to learn. I think I’ll be with the right people and in the right place to keep learning all the details. We hope it’ll be a more normal year for all of us and that we can enjoy it together.”
