Gresini-Ducati and the duel “Marquez vs. Marquez” / MotoGP

For the 2024 season, Nadia Padovani got an interesting contract where she united the brothers Marc and Alex Márquez in one MotoGP box. While the younger of the two was brought in by the widow of Italian team founder Fausto Gresini in 2023, eight-time world champion Marc joined a year later. Local or not – Italian Fabio Di Giannantonio had to make way for the Spanish superstar despite a poor second half of the season.

One of the most overused paddock sayings is: your worst opponent is always your teammate. Especially in the first division of sports, there was a clear surplus of groups of teams that are known more for tension than for harmony. Although battle-like escalations are rare, it is in the nature of the game that there can only be one star in a team.

The potential for conflict within the team also increases with the level of the pilots. If many world champions share the box, selfish shots are more merciless than when veterans and rookies meet.

A prime example of premium: Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo’s shared but separate years at the Yamaha factory team.

The current situation in the Gresini camp, on the other hand, is moderate. Although we are talking about Alex Márquez as a two-time world champion (2014 in Moto3, 2019 in Moto2), the 27-year-old has yet to win in the MotoGP premier league.
With a total of eight titles and 59 MotoGP victories for Marc alone, there are no debates about status in the team.

For Alex Márquez, despite all the brotherly love – Alex and Marc share much of their professional and personal life in close proximity – the situation is fragile. Only one year ago he gave the Gresini team its success. Although Di Giannantonio achieved great success towards the end of the season, in the final position Alex ensured the team a domestic victory by finishing ninth in the World Cup.

2024 now looks different. Marc has the situation under control. With the exception of one session, the Ducati newcomer was always ahead of his younger brother, who was already familiar with the Desmosedici. It’s also logical that Marc Márquez never takes prisoners with a helmet on his head; The 31-year-old would never have thought of letting her brother go first on the slopes out of charity.

For the first time in his career, Alex Márquez is openly confronted about the fact that he has no sun against his teammate. Which does not mean that such a collection leads to the immediate end of your career. The main example here is Dani Pedrosa. It was no different for him.
After comet “MM93” hit in 2013, Pedrosa knew the time had come. And yet the lightweight stayed as his teammate for another five years. He didn’t need to show any degree of relationship. Pedrosa maintained his solid position at Respsol Honda through the result. No. 26 managed seven wins even after the arrival of a supposedly invincible teammate.

Alex Márquez has been in the business long enough to understand that it’s the results, not the family name, that determine the MotoGP contract. It’s hard to find a greater motivation than beating your brother on the same motorcycle. Marc Márquez is used to having a strong teammate and all is well with the world – as long as the “little one” doesn’t drive in front of him on the track.

For the MotoGP community, the pair of brothers in the appearance of Gresini is indeed a beautiful family story, based on the history of the Gresini team, which is inspired by the family spirit. Apart from that, the fight between the team players is as difficult as any other.