Alex Márquez: "Not even in the worst moments was there a bad face in the box"

The performance of the youngest of the Márquez brothers was brilliant, with a very solid race and hard work throughout the weekend. In fact, he was in a podium position and with options to achieve it, but a red flag two laps from the end prevented him from trying.

However, more than the podium, the important thing for Alex Márquez is the good work done and that after a very difficult season with many crashes he was able to give the LCR a magnificent result and great joy.

“It is a reward for the team’s work, especially during the difficult moments with crashes where many pieces had to be changed and there has never been a bad face in the box and that is very much appreciated. And yes, it removes a slab, it gives confidence to continue feeding a motivation that has never been lacking, but that must be fed seeing that the work bears fruit”.

Alex’s improvement this weekend has been very notable compared to the rest of the course with the RC213V of the LCR.

“It is clear that we have changed the dynamics, I think that since (the test of) Misano we have changed the trend that we had, something that already happened to us the previous year, although neither in Austin nor in the second Misano race did we see the fruit of that labor. Now we must continue with the same dynamic. In the test we tried a different chassis that the official team had been using for a long time and I found an improvement, and we wait for some new evolution to see how it works and if there are differences. There isn’t much of a secret, they are small improvements that make you feel better on the bike and they have helped us a lot this weekend to take this step forward”.

Márquez finished the race fourth, but the Honda driver came to third after overtaking Jack Miller and it seemed that he could climb to the podium, even when the Australian passed him again but could never leave him behind. The red flag two laps from the end, without a doubt, prevented him from achieving it.

“When it happened to me, he managed to distance himself a bit, but then I quickly picked up the feeling again and I was very hooked when I crossed the finish line, and I wanted to try it, at least try it. In some places he was faster than him and he intended to pass him. Even with those two laps to go I was about to do it at the finish line (which would have given him the podium), but I thought about waiting for the last lap to surprise him”.

“It makes me a little angry not to have been able to try, but things are like that, this happens, it’s destiny, decisions that you don’t make at the moment and then these things happen. But I insist that what is important today more than the podium is what I have enjoyed and what I have been able to push in the race, which has been a lot”.

At the end of the race, Alex received a call from his brother, Marc Márquez , absent this weekend due to injury after hitting his head in training.

“I have spoken with Marc, he was right at home eating with friends when I entered the box, he was calm. He was happy, he asked me if I could have beaten Miller, who is very tough and the Ducati is very strong, I said yes and he made a bit of a joke, but he was happy for me”.

To finish, Alex declined to make an assessment of the possible presence of Marc in Valencia next week, in the last Grand Prix of the year.

“I don’t know, I wish I could answer that question, but I’m not the one to do it. In the end, he will do what is best for his health and I can say little more, ”concluded the boy from Cervera .

Alex Márquez, Team LCR Honda