Alex Marquez on Marc’s secrets: “Sometimes talking confuses more than it helps”

The siblings will reunite this year as Gresini Ducati riders after Marc followed Alex, a year later, out of Honda.

It means they will share a garage, a bike and data for the first time since 2020, when they were Repsol Honda teammates, a period which ended early due to Marc’s injury.

"We talk on the circuits, but not much,” Alex said on Spanish TV. 

“There is not much time. He is one way and I am another. 

“It is also like that with the other riders, sometimes talking confuses more than it helps.

“That's why everyone has to do their own thing. 

“I work with his team and his people. 

“If you have doubts, of course it is an advantage to go to your brother and ask 'how do you do it?'

“But if not, no."

Marc’s impressive debut on a Ducati at the postseason Valencia test means he enters 2024 as a MotoGP title contender.

It could be the key to the younger Marquez brother’s improvement too.

"I really like to observe the people around me,” Alex said.

“For example, my brother has won eight world championships, so I say 'is he good, what does he do better?' 

“Sometimes people, when they have someone who is better next to them, say that it's luck and that's it. 

“But if you look at it with the idea of ​​wanting to learn, it's cool, if not, it doesn't get better.”

A career in the spotlight as the younger brother of arguably MotoGP’s greatest ever talent has not always been easy for Alex.

A Moto3 and a Moto2 champion in his own right, the most recent premier class season was his best yet.

But he’s had to cope with criticism along the way.

"When things go wrong you have to know who criticises you constructively, who can help you," he said. 

"For example, the 'haters' give me motivation.

“The 'hate' makes you think 'I'm going to shut up, I'm going to try harder’.

“When you leave here, you will realise that the important thing is that they talk about you. 

“The day they stop doing that, it's over.

"At first criticism hurts because you are not used to it, but in the end it is what I said before: you have to focus on constructive criticism. 

“When it comes to criticism that is going to hurt, why waste time with it? You set it aside and that's it.

"There will always be people who want 'evil', but it's envy. 

“How many people would like to be here? 

“You have to surround yourself well, have your family close, and those who help you keep your feet on the ground.”