Marc Marquez makes a pact with his brother: "Alex and I help each other"

The anticipated title duel between the two factory Ducati riders, Marc Marquez and Pecco Bagnaia, has so far turned into a solo effort for the elder of the two men in red. In Argentina, the eight-time world champion dominated the Termas de Rio Hondo circuit to claim his second victory of the season in as many races. Even better: including sprints, Marc Marquez is at 4/4, an impressively clear round.

This is bound to delight the Catalan's family, but the Marquez family have another reason to celebrate: if Marc wins everything, it's always ahead of his younger brother Alex, who excels aboard the Ducati GP24, last year's bike. The Gresini rider shines in Ducati's satellite team, with which he hopes to finally secure his first Grand Prix.

In Thailand, for the first GP of the year, he didn't get far, leading for much of the race, but that was his older brother's choice, who wanted to stay in his wheel to manage his tire pressure. In Argentina, on the other hand, Alex Marquez got the better of his brother, making a small mistake by going a little too wide out of a corner. The younger brother charged into the gap and thought he'd win, until his brother reminded him of reality.

The two Marquezes play a team game

"I was impressed by my brother Alex. At one point in the race, I thought I was going to finish second because he was riding very well." assures Marc Marquez with a big smile. "I saw that his tires weren't smoking, so I thought, 'This guy is on another planet today.' In the end, I managed to survive by taking a lot of risks, sometimes maybe too many. I'm happy to come away with 37 points again (the maximum possible, Editor's note). There's a great atmosphere in the garage but also within the family!"

This beautiful family bond also translates into mutual help that the two men offer each other to try to achieve as many doubles as possible."Today, unlike in Thailand, my plan was not to stay behind Alex for the whole race, on the contrary I had planned to be in front the whole way." explains Marc. “We are very honest with my brother so I told him: ‘I will try to win the race, but if you are still behind around the 12th or 14th lap, that’s when I will make my effort.’ In the end, he had the same strategy and he was the one in front at that moment. We try to help each other and I’m sure that this year he will win several races, so I will be very happy. He is also happy for me when I win.”

The one who must be a little less happy is called Francesco Bagnaia, quite clearly outclassed by his garage neighbor who prefers to make a pact with his brother.

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