The big 2025 lesson Alex Marquez will apply in 2026

After a 2025 season in which Alex Marquez defied many of his critics with a strong run to second place in the world championship aboard a year-old Ducati, the Spaniard knows backing it up this season will be a tough challenge.

While most of those critics have melted away following his impressive season, the fact remains that the same level of performance may not guarantee a similar result.

That’s because the competition behind title favourite Marc Marquez shows signs of being stronger this season. Factory Ducati rider Francesco Bagnaia appears to have rediscovered his mojo, while Aprilia’s Marco Bezzecchi can be expected to make a stronger start to the year than he did in 2025. Should he avoid his 2025 injury nightmares, Jorge Martin is also likely to be a more serious threat aboard the Aprilia.

To counter that and ensure he can repeat a second place or better, Gresini’s Marquez will now be riding the latest factory Ducati. And, as he pointed out in the pre-weekend press conference at Buriram on Thursday, 2025 made him a stronger rider.

He referenced the fact that last year wasn’t all smooth sailing after a remarkably consistent start to the season. Marquez injured his hand at Assen and endured a mid-season dip, before returning to form later in the season. He still had to battle nerves, however, until he sealed second place in the championship in Malaysia - a target he later admitted held huge significance for him.

“I feel more prepared this year, because last year the step that we did [from 2024] was quite huge and I didn’t have the experience [of how to] approach [some] situations in a good way,” said Alex.

Alex Marquez, Gresini Racing

Photo by: Steve Wobser / Getty Images

Although he was a champion in Moto2 and Moto3, Marquez’s previous best finish in the MotoGP series was the eighth place he had registered in 2024.

“Last year, I didn't have the experience [from] the past to fight for a motorcycle title, or to fight against Marc, or to fight against some rivals [I had been] watching from quite far [back in previous] seasons. So 2025 was a little bit strange and I think that in one moment of the season I was just thinking too much about the championship and not [about how] to take all the profit from the bike. That moment is where I started to make those mistakes you know, at Brno, at Balaton Park, and all that.

“So I think it’s [those] mistakes I did in the past that I will try to solve this year. Hopefully we will be in the same situation and then I will have the opportunity to take [advantage of] that experience. But to get to that point we need to get our job done in the first part of the season and try to have the same level as last year.”

Marquez said consistency would be critical once again. He got away with a temporary loss of momentum in 2025, but may not do so this year if his rivals deliver as expected.

“To repeat a year like last year already will be a really good year. 2025 was an amazing year for us but you always want a little bit more. We need to not change the mentality, go race by race and then try to extract the potential at every track. It will be really difficult to be the fastest one at all the tracks but for that reason I say that consistency will be the key.”