Alex Marquez: “I saw plus zero Marc and said ‘f***, now what do I do?’”

Alex Marquez has given his delighted response to sharing the podium at the German MotoGP with brother Marc Marquez.

Jorge Martin crashed out of the lead, surrendering the victory and the championship initiative to Pecco Bagnaia at the Sachsenring on Sunday.

Marc was promoted a place into P2, as a result of Martin’s crash, while it gave Alex the chance to complete the podium.

• 2024 German MotoGP, Sachsenring - Race Results

The Gresini Ducati celebrations were wild as their two riders - the Marquez brothers - each finished on the rostrum.

A thrilled Alex told TNT Sports about scrapping with the front-runners in Germany: “It wasn’t easy to be with the front and rear tyre in the perfect time.

“I saw plus zero Marc and said ‘f***, now what do I do?’

“Later on, when I saw Martin’s crash - I am sorry for him - my body was shaking.

“I saw Franco Morbidelli stopped Enea Bastianini. So we were were lucky for that.”

The scrap between factory Ducati rider Bastianini and Pramac’s Morbidelli gave Alex the extra impetus to follow his brother onto the podium.

It meant the two Gresini riders - on GP23s - beat GP24 riders Bastianini and Morbidelli.

Alex described his race: “Everybody was trying to save tyres. It was a lap of management, trying not to use the rear tyre.

“Later, I struggled to overtake Morbidelli.”

He said about the difference between the bikes: “They have more in some areas - in the braking and going in - which is where you need to pass…”

Alex later added: “A really good day for us. An unexpected podium for me. Before, I said P7 was a real target because we didn’t have the pace.

“But we made changes which worked really well.

“I was losing too much with Franco Morbidelli. I wasn’t able to take the slipstream from Pecco.

“I’m happy to share the podium from Marc. But, when Jorge crashed, my body was shaking. I didn’t know what to make [of it].

“I watched the big screen for where Enea was because we know, in the last laps, he is so fast. I tried to control until the end because I was on the limit with the tyres.”

Alex was asked to score his season out of 10, after his standout result of the year.

“Until yesterday, it was a 6,” he said. “Today 6-and-a-half with the podium!

“We weren’t fast enough at the beginning of the season, only in Jerez. The race pace wasn’t as we need it to be.

“Today we had a good rhythm. Hopefully we can turn around the situation and be fast until the end.”

The German MotoGP was Alex’s third podium since joining Gresini.

Last year, he was third in Argentina and second in Malaysia, while he also won the sprint races in Malaysia and Silverstone.

This year, after being joined in the Gresini box by his esteemed brother, he has had to wait until the Sachsenring to return to the podium.