Álex
Márquez
Spain
·
MotoGP
Date of birth | 23 April 1996 |
|---|---|
Place of birth | Cervera |
Age | 29 |
Nationality | Spain |
Career start | 2012 |
Disciplines | MotoGP |
The mighty Repsol Honda factory MotoGP™ team became a family business in 2020 when Álex Márquez joined his record-breaking champion brother Marc after stepping up to motorcycle racing's premier class following his title-winning career in the Moto3™ and Moto2™ divisions. Motorcycle racing's fastest family are now going head-to-head in a fight for MotoGP™ glory.
Álex's thrilling 2019 Moto2™ world title win is the highlight of a racing career that, like his elder brother, started when he first climbed onto a bike around the age of four at home in Cervera, Spain.
Álex really started to get noticed as a standout rider in 2010 when, aged 14, he rode in the Spanish 125cc championship. He missed the opening race as it fell before his 14th birthday but turned heads when he finally did get on track with some strong rides against older rivals. The following year he was already fighting for the title, eventually finishing runner-up to current MotoGP™ rival Álex Rins, and in 2012 he was crowned Spanish national champion.
Álex's rides at home in Spain attracted enough attention to earn him a few wildcard rides in the Moto3™ World Championship during the early part of 2012 season, where he scored a high of sixth place in the MotoGP™ of Catalunya. Then, after the mid-season break, he was awarded a full-time Moto3™ ride with the Ambrogio Racing and really kick-started his world championship career.
A move to the Estrella Galicia 0,0 team aboard KTMs in 2013 marked the point where Álex became a world title contender and saw him score his first four podiums and a maiden Moto3™ victory in Japan. 2014 was the year he made history, however. Not only did he win his first Moto3™ world title, beating another MotoGP™ rival, Jack Miller, by two points, but he and brother Marc also became the first brothers to win world motorcycle racing titles in the same year – a feat they'd repeat in 2019.
Following a move up to the Moto2™ class in 2015, Álex claimed his first podium finish in the class in 2016 and then followed that up in 2017 with his first wins, all the while building his speed and race craft to achieve his goal of a Moto2™ World Championship title. He achieved this in style during the 2019 season, where he streaked to five race wins and five further podium finishes during the 19-race series to claim the title and become the first rider ever to win Moto3™ and Moto2™ championships.
After getting the call-up to race alongside brother Marc in MotoGP™'s most storied team, Álex was determined to make the most of the opportunity and worked hard to build his speed during his maiden premier class season. The highlight came in the form of back-to-back second place finishes at the MotoGP™ of France in Le Mans and the MotoGP™ of Aragón.
Álex still rode a Honda for the 2021 and 2022 seasons, but this time racing for the private LCR Honda Castrol team. The Spaniard endured a difficult time but found more success in 2023 when racing for Gresini Ducati as he twice finished on the podium and scored numerous top-10 finishes. This helped him to his best-ever result in the premier class of racing as he ended the championship in ninth place overall.
Álex was joined by his brother Marc Márquez at Gresini Ducati for the 2024 season, where he scored another podium finish at the famously tricky Saschenring circuit in Germany, and he's back with the team again in 2025.
Delivering his best-ever start to a MotoGP™ World Championship season, Álex took second place in the season-opening Grand Prix of Thailand at the Chang International Circuit.