It is no longer a rarity for pairs of brothers to compete in MotoGP. In the 2021 season, there were three of them in the premier class: the Marquez brothers Marc and Alex, the Espargaros Pol and Aleix, and Luca Marini and Valentino Rossi, who are linked by a half-brotherhood. However, usually only one of the two was really successful, if at all. That has now changed at the Sachsenring – there Marc and Alex Marquez secured the first MotoGP podium of their careers together. This makes the two the first riders in almost 30 years to achieve such a feat.
Since the introduction of the motorcycle world championship in 1949, only the Aoki brothers Nobuatsu and Takuma have managed this, finishing second and third together with Mick Doohan on the podium in Imola in 1997. Back then, it was still the 500cc era. Marquez’s podium on Sunday is therefore the first in MotoGP to feature two blood relatives in positions one to three.
Marc Marquez: I never expected it
The joint podium was not announced. Marc Marquez is undoubtedly one of the favorites for the podium on all tracks this season. However, he had a more than mixed weekend at the Sachsenring, where a broken index finger and a bruised chest took the wind out of his sails, among other things. Alex Marquez is still struggling with the peculiarities of the Ducati GP23 this year. He has not yet been able to build on the successes of last year, in which he achieved two sprint victories and two further podium places in the Grands Prix. He was all the happier about his breakthrough performance in Germany.
“This is a day that we and I will never forget,” said Marc Marquez on Sunday evening. “It will be difficult to repeat it. To be honest, I thought it was impossible this season. After all, it is difficult enough to get on the podium, both for him and for me. Finding the same Sunday when it suits both of us is something I did not expect.”
Duel between brothers: What if it goes wrong?
The late retirement of Jorge Martin obviously played into the Gresini riders’ hands. Otherwise, Marc and Alex would have had to fight it out for the last podium place. It was precisely before this duel that the alarm bells went off for the otherwise so consistent MotoGP rider Marc Marquez. “When I caught up with my brother, a few questions popped into my head: What should I do? Attack and overtake at risk? What if it goes wrong?” the future Ducati factory rider recalled his thoughts in the final moments of the race.
But that didn’t stop him from pulling off the maneuver in turn 12 and leaving his two-year-younger teammate behind. For him, too, the positive race result came out of nowhere. “That was really unexpected. On the starting grid, I gave an interview in which I was asked about my goal. I said: 7th place, that’s all I can do after the training,” said the 2019 Moto2 World Champion.
“But we made a few changes for the race and then I managed a really good start and a good initial phase,” said Alex, who was able to celebrate his first top-three result of the season a little later. The significance of the German Grand Prix is very special for both brothers. “I would trade all my podium places for this one,” said Alex. “Because today’s is just different, it will be difficult to repeat this feeling.” His brother agreed and even went one step further. “I’d gladly trade a win for a podium with my brother,” said number 93, who incidentally missed the Grand Prix victory for the first time at the Sachsenring. From 2013 to 2021, Marquez had always remained undefeated, but in the last two years he missed the main race due to injury.
The two Madrid natives announced a big celebration at Marquez’s house on Sunday evening. “First of all, today there are different cocktails than the ones the doctors and physiotherapists mixed for me before the race,” said Marc Marquez with a smile. His brother joined in. “You can go ahead, like in the race. I’ll overtake you tomorrow morning at 6 a.m.”
Unfortunately, due to Jorge Martin’s failure, MotoGP fans were spared a last-lap duel between Jorge Martin and Francesco Bagnaia. In this article, you will find out whether the latter would have been able to attempt an attack without the crash of his Ducati colleague.