2024 has all the ingredients to be a blockbuster MotoGP™ campaign. New tracks, new teams and new collaborations are all part of the coming season, and fans will be hoping it will prove a recipe for success. Among the significant off season changes, Marc Marquez traded in his Repsol Honda after 11 years for the Championship winning Ducati, where he will partner younger brother Alex at Gresini Racing.
The duo from Cervera make history once again as the only brothers to ride alongside each other in the premier class, having first done so in 2020 at Honda, and while they make history, it's clear they won't let familial ties interfere when the visors go down.
"The teammate is the first rival, but in this case, it's all in the family. Both of us are here for competition, it's in our genes. Naturally, if I can beat Alex, well, that's better, and if he can beat me, then it's better for him,” Marc said during a press conference organised by Estrella Galicia 0,0 in Madrid.
“The main thing is also to try to help each other as we have always done at home. Then on the track, each of us has their technical team and their own problems. It's not even good to talk too much because sometimes, a comment from me might sound completely different to him, so we'll continue as we have been, each with their technical team and at home helping each other as much as possible to prepare well for race weekends.”
While it is the #93’s debut campaign on Italian machinery, younger brother Alex already has a season’s experience under his belt, and plenty of success too. The Spaniard took two Tissot Sprint victories and two Grand Prix podiums in 2023, and he’ll be hungry for more joy once the lights go out in the upcoming campaign, and can only see the positives of having his brother and eight-time World Champion in the same team.
“In my personal experience, when I've had a teammate with whom I got along very well, those have been my best years, like in 2019 when I had Xavi Vierge as a teammate in Moto2 and I became World Champion. That competitiveness on the track, but getting along outside of it and forming a bit of a "team" not only helps with common work but also unites the forces of the riders and allows them to discuss things that you wouldn't discuss with another teammate, which makes everyone work in the same direction.”
This marks the second time the Marquez brothers have joined forces, with the 2020 stint cut short due to Marc's career-threatening injury. Both are optimistic for better fortunes this time, creating one of the most exciting teams on the 2024 grid.