Alex Marquez
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Date of Birth: 23/04/1996 |
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Honours
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First Grand Prix: 2012 Spain (Moto3) |
Sporting Career
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2004 |
2nd Promo Racc 50cc |
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2005 |
1st Promo Racc 50cc |
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2006 |
5th Promo Racc 70cc |
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2007 |
2nd Promo Racc 70cc |
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2008 |
3rd Catalan Championship |
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2009 |
9th Campeonato Mediterráneo de Velocidad Pre125GP |
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2010 |
Debut in CEV Spanish Championship in 125GP class. 11th overall (missed opening race due to being underage). |
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2011 |
2nd CEV 125cc |
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2012 |
Wild Card at Spanish, Portuguese and Catalan Grand Prix |
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2013 |
Rookie Of The Year in Moto3 |
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2014 |
Moto3 World Champion |
Biography
There are few combinations more infallible than talent and humility in the creation of a successful rider. However, adding a family background dominated by motorcycles and a trailblazing brother who became a World Champion at 17, gives more weight to the case for Alex Marquez one day making it at the highest level.
At a young age he said that he wanted to be a mechanic for brother Marc, but it wasn’t long before the younger Marquez began to ride himself. Born on April 23rd, 1996, and involved with bikes almost immediately, the young talent was already runner-up in the Campeonato Promo Racc 50 series at eight years of age. He went one better the following season, becoming Catalan champion in the same category.
Moving up steadily through the ranks, Alex competed in the 70cc PromoRacc class, the Mediterranean Championship PreGP 125 class and the Catalan PreGP 125 category, before debuting in the Spanish Championship in 2010. He would have to wait until the second race of the season to take part in the latter, as he had not reached the mínimum age for participation of 14. At the end of the year, he had ascended to eleventh place overall.
In his second year in the Spanish series, Márquez was picked up by Repsol in the Monlau Competición Junior Team and became a title contender. After beginning the season with a second place at Jerez, he won his first race at Motorland Aragon. The duel between the two Repsol riders –Alex Marquez and Alex Rins– lit up the campaign.
In 2012 the Repsol rider again competed in the CEV, challenging for the title whilst also making wildcard appearances at three World Championship rounds: Jerez, Estoril and Barcelona. One of the favourites for the national title, he claimed two wins and a further two podiums to take the honour in the sixth race. His strong performances earnt him a full-time spot in the World Championship for the second half of the season.
Marquez made the most of the opportunity and claimed 27 points over the course of his 11 Moto3 races, placing 20th overall. His best results were sixth in his home round at the Circuit de Catalunya, and ninth at Phillip Island in Australia.
Using the number 12 on his bike, Marquez will contest the sixteen World Championship rounds on a KTM. He will once again team up with Alex Rins. He will continue to gain experience in the lower cylinder class, once again with Repsol support.
The debut for the younger of the Marquez brothers was a surprise for everyone; he came close to a podium finish at the opening race of the year in Qatar, placing fourth. After two unfortunate races in Austin and Jerez, the strong results returned and the young rider was again inside the top 5. He fought for the rostrum at various races, before taking a creditworthy second place at Indianapolis. Marquez did not stop there, achieving his first win in Japan at the penultimate round of the year. He took fourth overall in the Moto3 World Championship with 213 points, making him the Rookie of the Year for 2013.
In what is only his second full season in Grand Prix racing, Alex Marquez has taken the final step in his progression and become, at just 18 years of age, Moto3 World Champion. Marquez started the season strongly, with a promising second place at the opening race in Qatar. With hard work and perseverance, he put a crash at Austin behind him with another podium finish in Argentina, and ended a run of three races off the rostrum with two consecutive wins in Catalonia and the Netherlands.
Marquez finished just off the podium in Germany (fourth), Indianapolis (sixth) and the Czech Republic (fourth), but went into the crucial stretch of the season in great form. The Repsol rider picked up three consecutive second positions -in Britain, San Marino and Aragon- to give him the lead of the Moto3 series. He extended his advantage at the head of the standings with his third victory of the year, at the Japanese circuit of Motegi, racked up a ninth podium of the season (his fifth in a row) in Australia and completed the flyaway rounds with a fifth position, clinching his first world title in the season finale, in Valencia.
