Alex Marquez has admitted that he did not attempt a move on his elder brother Marc Marquez in the Australian Grand Prix sprint, saying he found it “too risky” to pull off a pass on a title contender.
A tight battle between championship rivals Marc Marquez and Jorge Martin brought Gresini rider Alex Marquez into play in Saturday’s half-distance race at Phillip Island, with the 30-year-old closing in significantly on them by lap 8.
Martin’s subsequent crash out of second put the four-time grand prix winner right behind his brother, but the pair maintained their positions in the closing stages, finishing just three tenths adrift as the chequered flag flew on lap 13.
The race significantly boosted Marc Marquez’s hopes of winning his 10th world title, as he moved 10 points clear of Aprilia rival Martin in the standings.
After the sprint, Alex Marquez admitted he deliberately stayed behind his brother’s factory Ducati, insisting he had no intention of attempting a pass that could affect the latter’s title chances.
“From the beginning, I was feeling really good, really on pace, with a really good feeling on the bike, and I was able to be there,” said the Gresini rider.
“I lost a little bit too much time with the fight with Acosta, and then the gap was big to Jorge and Marc.
“I just tried to keep the pace there, and I was able to close the gap again, also [helped by] the overtakes that they did.
“In the end, I was there with Marc, but it was too risky to try to overtake him, him playing for a championship. So that's it, I arrived second, and I was able to keep the pace until the end.”
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Alex Marquez lined up second on the grid and dropped to fourth at the start, before repassing Johann Zarco and Martin on lap 2 to retake the position.
Martin fought back immediately afterwards and demoted him back to third, but the younger Marquez remained in the hunt through the middle stages of the race.
After Martin’s retirement, he remained within striking distance of race leader Marc Marquez, but settled for a safe second position ahead of VR46’s Fabio di Giannantonio.
Asked whether he felt he was quicker than the new championship leader, Alex Marquez said: “Maybe one tenth, two tenths - one and a half.
“But also it's true that when I did that push lap to try to close the gap again, I used a little bit too much energy and too much rear tyre at that moment. I arrived in the end a little bit too on the limit.
“It's true that in the beginning when I overtook Jorge, my idea was to also overtake Marc, and try to push my rhythm, because in that feeling I was feeling faster than them, and just try to put my rhythm.
“But when I overtook Jorge, he overtook me again on turn 4. So I was not able to really defend or to make a small gap to him.”
Aprilia had emerged as the manufacturer to beat at the start of the Phillip Island weekend, with the Noale-based factory finishing 1-2-4-5 in Practice.
However, the tables were turned on Saturday, with Ducati locking out the podium positions in the sprint race.
A wet qualifying worked in the favour of the Borgo Panigale manufacturer, allowing Marquez to claim pole position while consigning Marco Bezzecchi and Ai Ogura to ninth and 12th on the grid, respectively.
Injury also forced Raul Fernandez to retire from the sprint, leaving Bezzecchi as the marque’s best-finisher in fourth.
But Alex Marquez believes Aprilia still has a performance advantage at Phillip Island, having closely followed the battle between Martin and his elder brother.
“I think they still have it [an advantage],” he said. “I saw it from behind that maybe Jorge had something in some corners, but he was not able to make a gap to Marc.
“So, we just try to defend what we have, and just try to be there. Three Ducatis on the sprint podium, so not bad.”
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