Alex Marquez: “Things have gone worse than expected this 2021”

LCR Honda pilot Alex Marquez has taken stock of his second season in MotoGP at an interview organised by his sponsor Estrella Galicia 0,0. Acknowledging he has not always achieved the expected results since he arrived at the independent team of the golden wing in 2021, he nonetheless believes he has gained in consistency and grown both as a pilot and as a person. 

In the words of the youngest of the Marquez’ brothers, he has learned some important lessons from the difficulties he has encountered during the current season and above all, he has become a more regular pilot: 

A.M. “I think I have taken a step forward in this sense (consistency). In 2021 when we wanted to do things one way, they always came out another way. Sometimes you have seasons like this, when happens the other way around to how you had planned it. It’s complicated, but these things can happen, these are also years in which you learn a lot more and this also makes you value the good results even more”. 

As for their initial 2021 objectives, which involved finishing among the eight or ten best regularly, Alex Marquez acknowledges these have not always been achieved: 

A.M. “Although in some races we have managed to be in the top 10 or top 8, which was our goal, in others we have suffered more than necessary. I think things have gone worse and have been harder for me than I expected and, but I believe that now I have things much clearer in my head”. 

On the other hand, Alex Marquez has assured he feels comfortable with the pressure, either as part of a factory team as in 2020 or of an independent structure like this past year: 

A.M. I like the pressure. And although it is true that in a factory team this is greater, for me the situation has changed little. I’m still an HRC pilot. But from the first moment, I have felt very welcomed and everyone in the team has helped me a great deal, so I have felt little difference”. 

Alex Marquez arrived in MotoGP at a campaign marked by the coronavirus pandemic. In this, his second year, the Catalan pilot already had the experience of the season before, essential to better deal with the problems: 

A.M. “The first year is always the hardest. In addition, we had the whole situation with the Covid and the confinement. We were many months away from the bikes and I am a pilot who finds it difficult to start over. This year it has been a lot easier but it has also been a year when all of us at Honda have suffered. 

When asked about his best performances of this World Championship,the Spaniard has singled out Great Britain and Portugal: 

A.M. “I would say that the race at Silverstone was among the best because I enjoyed it. Also, the return from the summer break because we came back with fully charged batteries. We did very well in the two Austrian races as well. The race was given the ‘flag to flag’ and we endured the conditions during the first part of the race, but later when the change of bikes came, we did not stop and turned the situation around. Also, the race in Portimao, which is a very beautiful circuit and I was able to experience Marc’s lap up close”. 

Speaking about the worst moments of the season, Alex Marquez has wanted to emphasise how these have helped him grow as a pilot and as a human being: 

A.M. “You have tough moments every season and you have to come out the other end. This has been a season in which things haven’t gone as planned in numerous occasions but these things happen. Maybe it was harder at the beginning of the season because things weren’t working out, but we analysed the situation, talked to HRC and changed some parts of the bike to make some improvements. I think hard times always end up building you up, they make you a better driver and a better person. 

Images of Álex Márquez: Estrella Galicia 0,0.

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