Alex Marquez rediscovers the magic: here’s what made the difference at Jerez

Start of 2026 below expectations, in Spain the great comeback: Alex Marquez explains what’s behind his victory.

Already on Friday it was clear that Alex Marquez had something extra compared to the other MotoGP riders at Jerez. On Saturday morning the wet FP2 didn’t allow anyone to work on closing the gap; in the sprint race he was in front before the rain arrived and the crash that left him with 0 points. But on Sunday, in dry conditions, no one managed to take the win from him in the long race. He got a good start from the fifth slot on the grid, first got past Marco Bezzecchi and then his brother Marc, took the lead and stayed there until the checkered flag. After a start to the 2026 season far from 2025 levels, he got his revenge and now it’s about finding consistency.

Interviewed by DAZN España, the BK8 Gresini Racing rider expressed all his happiness for the result achieved: "I already told you this is where the magic happens, and I can confirm it: magic exists. Before getting here, we weren’t able to fight for a podium, or maybe not even for a top-five, nor to put together a perfect weekend."

There have been some changes to his Ducati Desmosedici GP26 and also in his mindset, trying not to focus too much on what’s not working, but instead giving his all to understand how to be competitive. Things worked out very well for Marquez: "I’m speechless. On Friday I went out and felt great. It’s not that we changed a lot, just a few small things, nothing major. I’m very happy I managed to shift gears, overcome the problems and get the most again out of what we have."

Alex explained that he felt comfortable at Jerez right away: "From Friday, apart from braking, which here didn’t make me lose ground compared to other Grands Prix and which was my weak point, especially corner speed, guiding the bike through the turn and having good traction made the difference. Even starting fifth, I knew that with a good start and attacking hard at the beginning, I’d have great chances."

Usually Marc is the king of left-handers, but this MotoGP weekend his brother managed to do even better in those parts of the track: "The positive thing this weekend is that from Friday onward I was very strong in the left-hand corners. Even in FP1, where Marc was losing compared to me was the left-handers, which is strange. In the right-handers, the fast ones, there was no difference and I couldn’t find that little extra. But in the left-handers I was in a good place and could make the difference. So it’s not always Marc who’s faster in the left-handers, but 90% of the time yes. Last year I was losing in the lefts compared to Marc, whereas this year so far it hasn’t happened."

At Jerez he was able to push more, braking very hard into the corners and stopping the bike without feeling front lock-ups or tucks, thus managing to lap effectively. With the front he had a feeling in 2026 that he hadn’t yet had with the Desmosedici GP26. This made a big difference compared to the first Grands Prix and the two-time world champion does not want to lose the great riding sensations he had in his Spain: "We need to analyze what happened this weekend compared to the other three to achieve that consistency from here to the end of the year." Today there’s an important MotoGP test at Jerez, it will be the chance to work and prepare well for the rest of the 2026 championship.