Álex Márquez: “In 2023 I laid the foundations and now it's time to be more solid”

MADRID, 11 Ene. (EUROPA PRESS) –

The Spanish MotoGP rider Álex Márquez (Ducati) reiterated this Thursday that “it is too early” to set goals and set expectations for the 2024 season, so he will not do so until “race by race” he looks “at his maximum, constant ” and without failures, at the same time that he warned that it must be “more solid” after establishing “the foundations” last season.

“It's too early for expectations. It's clear that you can speculate, you can think about it, but, personally, for me the focus of the season is to go from training to training, first in preseason and then, race by race,” said the de Gresini in an event organized by Estrella Galicia 0,0 in which he spoke with his brother Marc, his new partner, about the next season.

The 27-year-old driver was in favor of setting that “end of season” goal when he gets the “maximum” and is “constant” as the races progress. “There you can set a goal to reach the end of the season with some option for that goal that you set,” he explained.

“I experienced an evolution in 2023, I laid the foundations and now it's time to be a more solid driver,” remarked the youngest of the Márquez family, who as in 2020 will share the box with his brother Marc in Gresini this season. “When I have had a teammate with whom you get along very well, that is when I have had my best years, like in 2019, when I had Xavi Vierge as a teammate in Moto2, I managed to become world champion,” he recalled.

The one from Cervera pointed out that “that competitiveness on the track”, mixed with a good relationship “off it and making a bit of a team”, helps to “join forces with the drivers and comment on things that you wouldn't comment with another teammate”, to “work in the same direction.”

Comparing the situation with that experienced in 2020, when Marc Márquez was barely able to compete due to an injury, Álex argued that he now arrives after a “professional learning” process. “I came to the category as a Moto2 world champion. As a 'rookie' you have to learn many things, I was a rookie and now I am a veteran in the category, this will be my fifth year. Everything has changed a lot for me,” he said.

Finally, he valued his brother's ability to adapt with the Ducati, “a very competitive motorcycle.” “We'll see if his strengths also make the difference as they did with his previous bike, it looks great. It's the same Marc and I'm sure he will be competitive this year. Then, whether punctually or regularly, but he has speed and has proven it,” he concluded.