Álex Márquez


Álex Márquez Alentà is a Spanish Grand Prix motorcycle road racer, and the younger brother of Marc Márquez, who also competes at Grand Prix level. Márquez was the 2012 Spanish Moto3 Championship winner, and won the 2014 Moto3 World Championship at the last round in Valencia. In the process, he and Marc became the first brothers to win world motorcycle racing titles in the same year, a feat that was repeated in 2019 when Alex won the Moto2 championship and Marc the MotoGP championship.

Career

Early career

He began the 2010 season in the CEV Buckler 125cc championship, competing with the Monlau Competition team, along with Álex Rins and Niklas Ajo. Márquez did not participate in the opening round at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, as he was not old enough to do so – he did not turn fourteen until five days after the event. He finished eleventh in his first start at Albacete, having qualified tenth. He retired at Jerez due to clutch problems. He added finishes of seventh and sixth at Motorland Aragón and Albacete, before retiring from the final two races at Valencia and Jerez. He finished eleventh in the final riders' championship standings.
In 2011, Márquez battled with Rins for the title, with the championship honours ultimately going to Rins. Márquez won two races during the season – at Motorland Aragón and Albacete – and finished the season as runner-up, 12 points in arrears to Rins. With the championship changing to Moto3 regulations for the 2012 season, Márquez again won two races, at Albacete and Navarra; he won the championship with a fourth-place finish at Albacete.

Moto3 World Championship

Márquez made his world championship début as a wildcard at the 2012 Spanish Grand Prix. In difficult weather conditions, Márquez scored points with a twelfth-place finish. He also made wildcard appearances at Estoril and Catalunya, scoring points on both occasions, with fifteenth and sixth respectively. After the mid-season break, Márquez moved into the series full-time from the Indianapolis Grand Prix onwards with Ambrogio Racing, replacing Simone Grotzkyj. He scored points in four of the remaining eight races, and ultimately finished the season in twentieth place in the riders' championship.
In 2013, the Estrella Galicia 0,0 team moved to KTM machinery, with Márquez joining Rins in the team full-time. After predominantly finishing fourth or fifth in the races during the first half of the season, Márquez achieved his first podium finish at the Indianapolis Grand Prix with a second-place finish behind Rins. Márquez recorded three consecutive third-place finishes at Silverstone, Misano and Motorland Aragón, before taking his first career victory at the Japanese Grand Prix. He finished the season in fourth position in the final championship standings.
For 2014, Márquez and Rins remained in the series and started as the championship favourites. However, in the opening third of the season, they were usurped by Ajo Motorsport rider Jack Miller, who won three of the opening five races. Márquez took successive wins in Catalunya and the Netherlands to reduce the deficit from 44 points to 7. Márquez started a run of five top-two finishes at the British Grand Prix, including another victory at Motegi, which saw him move into the championship lead ahead over Miller and open up a 25-point gap. Despite Miller winning two of the final three races, a third-place finish at the final round in Valencia saw Márquez clinch the title by two points. In the process, he and brother Marc became the first brothers to win world motorcycle racing titles.

Moto2 World Championship

For the 2015 season, Márquez moved up to the Moto2 World Championship with the Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS team and finished 14th in de standings. In 2016 Alex had a slightly better season and took his first Moto2 podium in the Aragon GP, ending the year in 13th.
2017 was a break through year for Alex Marquez as he won his first Moto2 race at the Spanish GP, ending a much more consistent season in 4th overall, followed up by another 4th place in 2018, despite not winning a race. Alex won the 2019 Moto2 world championship securing a double championship haul for the Marquez brothers. Alex Marquez was also the first rider to win a title in Moto3 and Moto2.

MotoGP World Championship

For the 2020 season, Alex will join his brother Marc at Repsol Honda Team replacing Jorge Lorenzo who retired at the end of the 2019 MotoGP season. Márquez was unexpectedly promoted from Moto2 to MotoGP when still contracted to Marc VDS for 2020 after the retirement announcement of Lorenzo in November 2019. Moto2 contracts can be broken if the rider is offered a place in MotoGP. Márquez' old seat in Moto2 for 2020 has been taken by Spaniard Augusto Fernández.

Career statistics

CEV Championship

Races by year

YearClassBike1234567PosPts
2012Moto3Suter HondaJER
Ret
NAV
1
ARA
2
CAT
2
ALB
1
ALB
4
VAL
1st103

Grand Prix motorcycle racing

By season

By class

Races by year

YearClassBike12345678910111213141516171819PosPts
Moto3Suter HondaQATSPA
12
POR
15
FRACAT
6
GBRNEDGERITAIND
Ret
CZE
21
RSM
Ret
ARA
15
JPN
14
MAL
14
AUS
9
VAL
Ret
20th27
Moto3KTMQAT
4
AME
Ret
SPA
23
FRA
5
ITA
5
CAT
4
NED
5
GER
5
IND
2
CZE
5
GBR
3
RSM
3
ARA
3
MAL
4
AUS
4
JPN
1
VAL
4
4th213
2014Moto3HondaQAT
2
AME
Ret
ARG
2
SPA
7
FRA
5
ITA
Ret
CAT
1
NED
1
GER
4
IND
6
CZE
4
GBR
2
RSM
2
ARA
2
JPN
1
AUS
2
MAL
5
VAL
3
1st278
2015Moto2KalexQAT
11
AME
15
ARG
15
SPA
9
FRA
Ret
ITA
12
CAT
11
NED
9
GER
18
IND
10
CZE
4
GBR
4
RSM
Ret
ARA
Ret
JPN
18
AUS
9
MAL
Ret
VAL
12
14th73
2016Moto2KalexQAT
Ret
ARG
Ret
AME
11
SPA
Ret
FRA
Ret
ITA
16
CAT
18
NED
8
GER
Ret
AUT
6
CZE
5
GBR
25
RSM
10
ARA
2
JPN
Ret
AUS
DNS
MAL
7
VAL
Ret
13th69
2017Moto2KalexQAT
5
ARG
21
AME
4
SPA
1
FRA
4
ITA
3
CAT
1
NED
6
GER
Ret
CZE
2
AUT
2
GBR
14
RSM
DNS
ARA
Ret
JPN
1
AUS
6
MAL
Ret
VAL
5
4th201
2018Moto2KalexQAT
3
ARG
5
AME
2
SPA
Ret
FRA
2
ITA
5
CAT
3
NED
3
GER
13
CZE
Ret
AUT
Ret
GBR
C
RSM
18
ARA
4
THA
Ret
JPN
4
AUS
7
MAL
7
VAL
3
4th173
2019Moto2KalexQAT
7
ARG
3
AME
5
SPA
24
FRA
1
ITA
1
CAT
1
NED
Ret
GER
1
CZE
1
AUT
2
GBR
Ret
RSM
3
ARA
3
THA
5
JPN
6
AUS
8
MAL
2
VAL
30
1st262
MotoGPHondaSPA
12
ANC
8
CZE
AUT
STY
RSM
EMI
CAT
FRA
ARA
TER
EUR
VAL
8th*12*

* Season still in progress.