Alex Marquez: Honda ‘put me in the background and it affected me a lot’

The Gresini Ducati rider has not looked back since joining the Italian manufacturer, so much so that his results helped convince Marc Marquez to leave Honda behind.

Marquez, who joined MotoGP as the Moto2 world champion in 2020, began his premier class career alongside his brother at the factory Repsol team. 

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But what was supposed to be a very successful season together turned into a nightmare for Marc, as his crash at the season-opener in Jerez was the start of many injury setbacks.

For Alex, not having Marc alongside him ‘complicated’ matters, saying this to DAZN: “When he got injured it was complicated, because I imagined that by being with my brother in the garage I could learn and make giant strides. 

“Especially when I already knew that the following year I would be in LCR and not in Repsol. It was all uphill there. A year as a rookie that I was supposed to enjoy collapsed on me.”

Alex Marquez was then replaced by Pol Espargaro who didn’t fare much better as he struggled throughout his two seasons as a factory rider.

Not because of his relegation to the LCR team, but Alex felt let down by the Japanese brand as he believes they put him in the rear-view mirror.

Marquez said: “In 2021 they put me in the background a bit and this affected me a lot, it made me so angry. 

“All the engineers' attention had shifted to Pol, it was something that I didn't understand well and that was difficult to accept. History could have been different, but it cannot be changed.”