Winner in Malaysia, Alex Márquez learned from the past

Winner of the Malaysian Grand Prix, Álex Márquez (Gresini Ducati) based his strategy on his 2023 defeat against Enea Bastianini.

The Spanish rider finished second in the 2023 Malaysian Grand Prix, behind Enea Bastianini, who rode for the factory Ducati team. In the blistering heat of Sepang, Márquez decided to stay behind Bastianini in the opening laps in order to attack him late in the race. This strategy didn't pay off, as his front tire was overheating, preventing him from attacking.

Starting second behind Pecco Bagnaia's factory Ducati, Márquez could rightly be concerned about such a scenario happening again! He therefore adopted a different strategy, attacking from the start to take the lead and escape, with fresh air on his front tire. Despite pressure from Pedro Acosta behind, the KTM could do nothing to prevent the #73 Ducati from winning.

"It wasn't an easy weekend for us, I crashed twice on Friday, and the feeling on the bike wasn't really perfect.", explained Alex Márquez. The strategy today was smart and clear, it was the winning strategy to attack early in the race because I knew it would be crucial. I lost a race here two years ago because I didn't overtake Bastianini early in the race so I knew I had to try."

Second in the championship, Márquez also contributed to Gresini's title as best independent team, won this Sunday at Sepang. This is something to smile about, but also to spare a thought for Moto3 world champion José Antonio Rueda and Noah Dettwiller, who were airlifted to hospital, conscious, following a violent crash ahead of the Moto3 race.

"It's a great victory for us to celebrate this second place in the championship. However, I'm thinking a lot of thoughts for the two riders involved in the Moto3 accident, I'm keeping my fingers crossed for them."

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