Álex Márquez

Álex Márquez Alentà (born 23 April 1996) is a Spanish Grand Prix motorcycle road racer who races for the Ducati satellite team Gresini Racing in MotoGP. He finished as championship runner-up in the 2025 season. He has won two world titles: the 2014 Moto3 World Championship and the 2019 Moto2 World Championship.

Márquez made his debut in the MotoGP class for the truncated 2020 season. He had been contracted to continue in Moto2, but Jorge Lorenzo's unexpected retirement made a seat available in MotoGP at the factory Honda team, opposite Márquez's older brother Marc. Márquez was demoted to satellite Honda team LCR for the next two seasons. In 2023 he switched manufacturers to join Gresini, where his performance improved. He finished 9th in the championship standings in 2023, and 8th in 2024. In 2025, Márquez had a career-best season: he won his maiden MotoGP race at Jerez, followed by victories in Catalonia and Malaysia, and finished as championship runner-up. In a historic first for Grand Prix motorcycle racing, he and Marc became the first siblings to finish first and second in the same category.

Career Early career Márquez began the 2010 season in the CEV Buckler 125cc championship, competing with the Monlau Competición 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 Ambrogio Next Racing (2012) Márquez made his world championship debut 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.

Estrella Galicia 0,0 (2013–2014) 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.

In 2014, Márquez and Rins remained in the series and were initially viewed as the championship favourites. However, they were quickly 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. As a result, he and brother Marc became the first siblings to win motorcycling Grand Prix world titles.

Moto2 World Championship EG 0,0 Marc VDS (2015–2019) 2015 For the 2015 season, Márquez moved up to the Moto2 World Championship with the Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS team. His best race finishes were consecutive fourth places at Brno and Silverstone, and he finished 14th in the standings.

2016 Márquez had an uneven season in 2016. Despite seven race DNFs, he scored his first Moto2 podium in Aragon, and ended the year in a slightly improved 13th position.

2017 2017 was a breakthrough year for Márquez. At the fourth round of the season in Jerez, he won his first Moto2 race. He took further victories in Catalonia and Misano, as well as three additional podium finishes. He finished the season ranked fourth in the standings.

2018 2018 saw no race victories for Márquez, but reasonable consistency. He finished in the top five in ten out of eighteen races, enough to ensure he finished the championship in fourth place again.

2019 Márquez had an excellent season in 2019. In the middle of the season he hit a run of good form and took three consecutive victories in Le Mans, Mugello, and Catalonia. He retired in Assen before securing another two consecutive race wins in Germany and Brno. Combined with five additional podiums, this was enough to ensure he won the championship. He became the first rider to win championships in both the rebranded Moto3 and Moto2 classes. His brother Marc won the MotoGP championship, securing a second double championship haul for the siblings.

MotoGP World Championship Repsol Honda Team (2020) 2020 Márquez was contracted to continue with Marc VDS in Moto2 for the 2020 season. However, Jorge Lorenzo belatedly announced his retirement in November 2019, opening up a seat in MotoGP at Repsol Honda alongside Márquez's brother Marc. As Moto2 contracts can be broken if the rider is offered a place in MotoGP, Márquez replaced Lorenzo, and his Moto2 seat was given to Augusto Fernández.

Márquez had a difficult start in MotoGP: the season was truncated due to the COVID-19 pandemic, his brother sat out almost the entire season due to injury, and the Honda RC213V was difficult to ride. Márquez took second place finishes in Le Mans and Aragon, but his season was otherwise underwhelming and he finished fourteenth in the standings.

Márquez was dropped by Repsol Honda at the end of the season and replaced by Pol Espargaró.

LCR Honda Castrol (2021–2022)

2021 For the 2021 season, Márquez joined the satellite LCR Honda team, partnering Takaaki Nakagami. He suffered six DNFs across the season, with his best race finish a fourth place in the penultimate round of the season. He finished in sixteenth place in the standings, one position behind his teammate.

2022 Márquez remained with LCR for the 2022 season. His best race position all season was seventh in Portugal. He finished seventeenth in the standings, one position ahead of his teammate and one position behind factory Honda rider Espargaró. The RC213V had become extremely uncompetitive.

Gresini Racing MotoGP (2023–2026) 2023 Márquez switched manufacturers for the 2023 season, joining Ducati satellite team Gresini to partner Fabio Di Giannantonio. The Ducati was much more competitive, and Márquez scored a podium in just his second race with Gresini in Argentina. He scored a second podium in Malaysia, and scored sprint race wins in Silverstone and Malaysia. He finished the championship in ninth place.

2024 For the 2024 season, Márquez was joined at Gresini by his brother Marc. Márquez finished third in Germany, while his brother finished second, making them the first siblings to stand on a MotoGP podium together since 1997. This was Márquez's sole podium, but he had a fairly consistent season and finished in eighth place, ahead of three other Ducatis.

2025 Márquez arriving at the grid before the start of 2025 Dutch TTFor the 2025 season, Márquez partnered rookie Fermín Aldeguer, as Marc had moved to the factory Ducati team. Márquez was riding a year-old GP24 Ducati, but it had dominated the previous year's championship and was highly competitive with the new GP25 spec. He made a stunning start to the season, achieving three double second places in the main races and sprints of the first three rounds. At the fifth round in Jerez, Márquez won his first race in MotoGP. His good form continued with a sprint race victory at Silverstone and three more second places in the main races in Aragon, Mugello, and Germany.

It soon became clear that Márquez was, unexpectedly, his brother's closest rival for the championship. He won a second race in Catalonia, but a sixth-place finish in Motegi ended his chances for the title. His performance tailed off slightly in the last part of the year: despite his brother's absence from the last four rounds, Márquez only took one more main race victory in Malaysia. Nevertheless, he easily finished the championship as runner-up, over a hundred points clear of third-placed Marco Bezzecchi. Marc and Álex became the first siblings to finish 1–2 in the championship standings in Grand Prix motorcycling history.

2026 Márquez remained at Gresini for the 2026 season, now on factory machinery. He struggled across the first few rounds before taking a surprise victory in Jerez. In Catalonia, one of his most successful circuits, he claimed victory in the sprint by 0.041 seconds over Pedro Acosta, the closest sprint finish in history. In the main race, Márquez was running in second when Acosta's KTM malfunctioned and suddenly lost power on the straight. Márquez slammed into his bike and was thrown towards the barriers in a violent crash. He fractured his neck and collarbone, and underwent surgery on the latter. He accordingly did not start the next three races to recover.

Márquez completed his first race weekend back in Assen, where he finished an impressive fifth. At the next round in Germany, he finished second in the sprint, and was running in second in the main race when he slid out of the final corner on lap nine.

Red Bull KTM Factory Racing (2027–) 2027 For the 2027 season, Márquez switched to Red Bull KTM Factory Racing on a multi-year deal, reuniting with former Gresini teammate Fabio Di Giannantonio.

Career statistics CEV Buckler Moto3 Championship Races by year (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position, races in italics indicate fastest lap) Year Bike 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Pos Pts 2012 Suter Honda JER NAV ARA CAT ALB1 ALB2 VAL 1st 103

Grand Prix motorcycle racing By season

By class

Races by year (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap) Season still in progress.

Personal life Marquez is currently in a relationship with Gabriela Guzmàn.