Alex Marquez on the Pirelli tests: “Dani and Pol will do a good job”

After a long wait, Gresini-Ducati star Alex Márquez secured another podium finish on race day at Misano. Following his victory at Jerez, this was only his second GP podium of the year.

AM73 had already come close to a top-three finish at both Silverstone and Aragon, finishing fourth in the Grand Prix on both occasions. This weekend sees the Austrian Grand Prix take place. In 2025, the Spaniard finished second and tenth at the Red Bull Ring. “I was very quick here last year. Of course, I had to serve a long-lap penalty in the main race and ended up crossing the line in tenth place. But I was quick and consistent,” said the runner-up in the world championship on Thursday, looking back on last year’s event. “We’ll see what the weather’s like, as we’re here later in the season this year. That means the temperatures in the morning will be a bit tricky. But I’m coming here feeling good after Misano.”

The Red Bull Ring is a stop-and-go circuit. In the past, Ducati has always been a force to be reckoned with there – since 2016, the Italian manufacturer has secured ten Grand Prix victories at Spielberg. “It’ll be a good test for us, as the circuits in Austria and Motegi are similar,” said AM73, already drawing a comparison with the Japanese circuit, where the MotoGP World Championship will be held in early October. “It’ll be interesting to see where we stand and in which areas we need to improve.”

Alex Márquez: “It’s possible that the tyre we’ll have in Thailand will be completely different”

On the Monday following the race weekend, a Pirelli test will take place at the Red Bull Ring with next year’s 850cc bikes. Alex Márquez is one of the riders who will not be taking part in the test – he is leaving Gresini Ducati at the end of the season and will join the KTM works team in 2027. The test will primarily feature riders who are not switching manufacturers. On top of that, Ducati has Superbike dominator Nicolo Bulega at its disposal. The Italian is heavily involved in the development work for the 850cc bike from Bologna, and he also has a great deal of experience with Pirelli tyres.

Does Alex Márquez see it as a problem that he isn’t allowed to test? “Apart from Nicolo (Bulega), the others won’t have much of an advantage. It’s only two days – one in Brno and one in Spielberg,” the 30-year-old dismissed the concern. “On top of that, the tyres won’t be the same. I think Pirelli will be changing the tyres quite a few times yet. The ones we’ll have in Thailand might be completely different. Of course, Nicolo will have a lot of information because he’ll have clocked up plenty of kilometres by the time the first race comes around. But that doesn’t apply to the rest of us. I prefer not to test the bike and the tyres, because otherwise you can get confused with the bike we have now and the Michelin tyres. Let them do the work. I also believe that KTM’s test riders are very fast – Dani (Pedrosa) and Pol (Espargaró) will do a good job.”

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18.09.2026 - 08:55