With mud-stained work boots for a morning as a teacher, Alex Marquez attends an interview with AS in the presentation of the sixth edition of the Allianz Junior Motor Camp at the Rufea circuit (Lleida). With a Marc absent since the last appointment in Portimao, the LCR Honda rider shows a much more positive attitude, already enjoying their vacations, but above all with the illusion of a new beginning at Honda. He says that the direction is finally correct and that, with a new project that starts from scratch, the brand with the ‘golden wing’ lives with hopes of going back two years into oblivion in 2022. And he, in his third year, continues to call for consistency as his primary goal.
– In Valencia he said that the Jerez test was key, but now he is already talking about enthusiasm. Leave a good taste in your mouth for 2022 …
– Very good taste in the mouth. When you test a new bike it is very different, the concept is totally different already in terms of set up. There are still a thousand things to work on, as a pilot also get more out of it, but the times were coming and that’s the most important thing. It is exciting, because it is a very different motorcycle and it gives you new air. I’ve only been in MotoGP for two years, but the same bike almost from one year to the next. It is also exciting because Honda has done a great job where you have to continue, not stop here. You have to evolve a lot, but the base is very good.
– The new prototype was tested for the first time in Jerez. He says that the comments coincide with Pol Espargaró and Takaaki Nakagami. Your brother, Marc, tried it in Misano, does it also coincide with him?
– Marc and I sometimes try things in tests, that you can’t talk or anything, and we agree almost on everything. In the end I have grown up watching his tests. Transmitting to engineers what I want and what not is very similar to him. I come from that school, from Emilio (Alzamora, manager of both brothers), from Monlau, to know how to be ordained or how to talk to them. In many or almost all the comments we agree. Sometimes it has happened that Marc and I agree on something while Pol and Nakagami saw it differently. With Marc we always make very similar comments and, this time, it was exact. I had not spoken with him and Santi (Hernandez), who was in Jerez, told me that was exactly what Marc was saying. It is something that also gives me peace of mind, knowing that you are on the right track. It’s not that you beat around the bush and come back. It is important that we all agree and Honda knows what the priority is for this winter.
– It can be said that the path to which Marc led you is still on the line and that for 2022 much more can be expected from Honda.
– Yes, yes, that’s the important thing. What must be designed more in winter is the engine and aerodynamics, which is what is most limited during the year, where you have to work more. Then, during the season, chassis can be tested, set up… you can try a thousand things. Now the work with the engine and the aerodynamics will be key for Malaysia. But also in all facets. In the end it is a new, young bike, where you have to understand many things to improve.
– How does the bike change so much compared to 2021?
– Especially the motorcycle concept, the weight distribution … You can’t compare one to the other. With the previous one, Honda had been working for many years, it gave a lot of potential, but the ceiling had been reached because the other brands went in another direction. Above all, what changes is the chassis. We have gained a lot of traction, which is what Pol and Marc said in Misano, where we have improved more, but there are other problems. Our bike was very agile and we lost it a bit, but it is normal. We will not be good at everything, but having traction and acceleration is key now in MotoGP.
– Looking at the end of the season and how the Jerez tests went … is Ducati the perfect bike?
– It is the most complete motorcycle, but I think it has been for a few years now. It is the bike that many riders can handle well, almost all of them are fast. It is something that is seen in results and it is easy to see it from the outside. In the end they are also times. Honda also had theirs, from 2009 to 2014, which they won almost every year and were very competitive with Pedrosa, Stoner or Marc. They bet on this motorcycle concept long before and have evolved a lot. Now, as it is matched, Ducati has made the difference, but next year it may be even much more matched.
– From a year of learning and transition, what do you take from 2021?
– You also learn a lot from bad times and learn to be much more complete. As a pilot he also gives you that experience so that these problems do not happen in the future or you know how to anticipate them in some way. I continue to evolve a lot as a pilot, understanding electronics or tires much more. The problems we’ve had make you, as a pilot, try to somehow make up for them and it’s something that has helped me.
– Do you stay with the Álex of 2020 for the podiums or the one of 2021 for learning?
– With the one in 2021. Every year I learn and as a pilot I feel much more complete than in 2020. Now I think about the podiums and I don’t know how they came out (laughs). I feel much more prepared. When I take a MotoGP after winter I feel better. They are those things that the future brings you and that you keep improving more and more.
– A few days ago Toni Bou visited us and said that you hardly learn from victories. Can you draw any lessons from a victory or a podium?
– You learn, but different. It is from the hardest moments where you learn the most and you know how to give much more value by winning. Toni has earned too much (laughs). Surely the taste is not the same. Having a hard and difficult year makes you value those moments much more. My first Moto3 title did not give it what it deserved. The Moto2 yes, but because he had gone through a difficult phase until he got to win again. Hard moments make you savor the good ones much more, that you give it much more value and know how to enjoy it more.
– Is it annoying to come to Honda in the most difficult years?
– Nerd. I believe in fate and fate was that in 2019 I won (the Moto2 title)Jorge Lorenzo, for whatever reason, decided to retire and I had that opportunity that I took. I believe in destiny and that was it, that’s it. Sure we have to redirect the situation in some way, but I think we finished in good shape this season finale. This is where we have to start next year, with this potential and with this new bike to help us.
– What is your wish for 2022?
– For me, the desire is to be much more regular, that’s the first thing. Doing podiums is something that I would love. This year we were close in Portimao, but the red flag prevented it. This year has been a bit the season in which you go to the right and you go to the left, on the contrary all the time. Things that have to turn out perfect, for whatever reason, turn out the other way around. I’m not asking for luck, but rather that destiny is a little more pleasant with us. I think some changes that we have made in the team will help a lot for the future. That there are no injuries, that there is health, especially for Marc, not just for me. I hope to be more constant in the top 6 or top 8. And that Marc can win the World Cup.