Marc Marquez is tipped to pick up where he left off in MotoGP once bikes hit the track for the season-opener in Thailand, but Jorge Lorenzo believes Alex Marquez’s marker at Sepang has confirmed him as a real threat to his brother’s title defence.
A good portion of Marc Marquez’s pre-season preparations for the 2026 MotoGP campaign have been centred on recovery.
Just one week after clinching his seventh premier class crown, the Spaniard suffered a broken collarbone following an incident with Marco Bezzecchi in Indonesia.
Still, there are no doubts about Marquez losing any of his ability due to the injury. He remains widely expected to be the rider to beat again this season as he continues with Ducati’s factory team.
His younger brother, Alex Marquez, now has factory support from Ducati and will be riding machinery on par with Marc.
Lorenzo told DAZN: “I think so. It could be very similar [to Aleix Espargaro last year], but I see more potential in Álex than Aleix.”
“If you analyse all these points that I mentioned before, you see that he had never had a winning bike and it is only now when Ducati gives him official material [that] we really start to see his potential.
Lorenzo says Alex Marquez is now a real contender to Marc
During a conversation with Marca, Jorge Lorenzo shared his thoughts on the upcoming season and how he thinks the Spanish riders in particular will perform.
There are nine Spaniards set to compete in the 2026 MotoGP season, making up nearly half of the 22 full-time riders. Out of that group, Lorenzo highlighted two names he expects to be fighting for the championship: Marc Marquez and his younger brother, Alex.
He said, “Alex Marquez has once again surprised everyone in Sepang with the best pace, half a step ahead of Marc and [Francesco] Bagnaia. This confirms that Alex Marquez will be competitive again.
“Fermin Aldeguer, bad luck, and Jorge Martin, also unlucky with that collarbone. And Acosta and Maverick are riding a KTM whose ability to match the Ducati and Aprilia remains to be seen.
“The two Spaniards who currently seem most in contention for the World Championship are Marc Marquez and his brother.”
The country has produced some of MotoGP’s top talents over the years and continues to have strong representation across the grid.
Alex Marquez expected to join KTM for 2027 MotoGP season
The start of the new MotoGP season is just around the corner, but most of the talk at the moment is still about how different things could look in 2027.
Among several high-profile changes expected to shake up the grid, Alex Marquez looks set to join KTM. Reports suggest he’s close to finalising a deal with them ahead of the 2027 campaign.
Pedro Acosta is tipped to make the move to factory Ducati in 2027, opening up a spot at KTM. Maverick Vinales is also expected to step into a factory role after his stint with Tech3, meaning Marquez would likely take over Brad Binder’s seat and leave questions over where Binder fits into future plans.
It’s been an intriguing period filled with rumours and speculation. While nothing has been made official yet, all eyes will be on how these potential moves unfold as we get closer to lights out on another year in MotoGP.
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