Álex Márquez’s 2023 season: Winning bet on Gresini and Ducati

After three seasons with Honda, Álex Márquez took a new direction in his MotoGP career in 2023, moving to Gresini Racing. In the Italian team, he found a Ducati Desmosedici GP22 and, despite the necessary adaptation, he presented good results immediately. He finished in ninth place.

The Portuguese GP was promising for Márquez, with a fifth place in the first main race of the year… followed by a return to the podiums with a third place in Argentina after starting from pole position. A start that exceeded the rider’s expectations, as he admitted himself at the press conference:

– If they had told me before coming here that I would get pole position and third place, I would have signed. Yes, I am super happy. It is true that we are making constant progress and this is really satisfying.

The fans have spoken 🙌

It was close but we do have a winner: @alexmarquez73's move on @PeccoBagnaia for 3rd was voted as the best overtake of the #ArgentinaGP 🇦🇷! 👏#MotoGP pic.twitter.com/d79iqmfI2R

— MotoGP™🏁 (@MotoGP) April 5, 2023

However, there was a complicated phase of the year for #73: he recorded three retirements and an eighth place in the following four main races, and the top five only returned at the Austrian GP after the summer break. At the same time, he admitted more than once that he was still in an adaptation phase to the Ducati bike. The second part of the season was also marked by physical problems, stemming from a crash at the Indian GP that kept him out of the races of that round, as well as Japan and Indonesia. Márquez still tried to participate in Mandalika and rode in the first free practice, but was unable to continue in action. However, the highlight of the season was yet to come. In the Malaysian GP, the Spaniard managed to win the Sprint race and second place with the fastest lap in the main race, in what was undoubtedly the best round of the year. After the Malaysian GP, Márquez commented: ‘It was my best weekend in MotoGP. I think it can be compared to Aragón in 2020‘.

That reception 🎉 @alexmarquez73 #MalaysianGP 🇲🇾 pic.twitter.com/gIXhDHibvq

— MotoGP™🏁 (@MotoGP) November 11, 2023

It was the result in Sepang that put Márquez on track for the final top ten. Despite two sixth places in the last two main races, he managed to achieve ninth place with 177 points, surpassing factory riders like Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha), Jack Miller (Red Bull KTM), or Marc Márquez (Repsol Honda).

The year 2023 was a year of adaptation and learning for Álex Márquez, who admitted after the end of the season: ‘I am not a rider who is fast from the beginning, but with this bike I managed to be fast, win a Sprint, make it to the podium, first row, pole position, and I did things I did not expect,’ he told the website Moto.it.

The 2024 season that #73 himself knows will be crucial for his career is next. He has the stability of continuing with Gresini and aboard a Ducati, so he will no longer have to go through an adaptation period. In addition, he will have his brother Marc as a teammate, having even more opportunities to grow and improve as a rider.

Álex Márquez’s 2023 season:

Portuguese GP: 9th Sprint/5th GP – 6th in the championship
Argentinian GP: 5th Sprint/3rd GP – 4th in the championship
Americas GP: Abandonment in Sprint and GP – 8th in the championship
Spanish GP: Abandonment in Sprint/8th GP – 10th in the championship
French GP: 15th Sprint/Abandonment in GP – 12th in the championship
Italian GP: Abandonment in Sprint and GP – 13th in the championship
German GP: 8th Sprint/7th GP – 11th in the championship
Dutch GP: 9th Sprint/6th GP – 10th in the championship
British GP: 1st Sprint/Abandonment in GP – 9th in the championship
Austrian GP: 4th Sprint/5th GP – 9th in the championship
Catalan GP: 10th Sprint/6th GP – 10th in the championship
San Marino GP: 9th Sprint/11th GP – 9th in the championship
Indian GP: Did not participate in Sprint and GP – 10th in the championship
Japanese GP: Absent due to injury – 11th in the championship
Indonesian GP: Did not participate in Sprint and GP – 11th in the championship
Australian GP: 9th in GP (no Sprint) – 11th in the championship
Thai GP: 8th Sprint/Abandonment in GP – 11th in the championship
Malaysian GP: 1st Sprint/2nd GP – 11th in the championship
Qatari GP: 4th Sprint/6th GP – 10th in the championship
Valencia GP: 8th Sprint/6th GP – 9th in the championship