Why Marc Marquez stressed his Ducati is identical to brother Alex's in Aragon MotoGP

While Alex Marquez maintains the stance that he “understands” why Ducati is not giving upgrades to his MotoGP bike, his brother Marc contends that at Aragon the bikes were “identical".

Marc Marquez made his debut on a Ducati GP23 with the Gresini team last season, alongside Alex. While factory riders Francesco Bagnaia, Enea Bastianini, Jorge Martín and Franco Morbidelli received upgrades on the GP24, the Marquez brothers had to wait for what they called "some candy," referring to the small components they were given during the season.

This year, Marc is at the top of the ladder within the Bologna factory and leads the standings with four Sunday victories after replacing Bastianini, while his main rival at the moment in the championship fight, Alex, remains a satellite team rider.

During the Jerez test on 28 April, the younger Marquez didn’t receive a single new part for his GP24, and on Monday, during the official tests at Motorland, Alex only took part in the morning session - and only to test the radio system MotoGP aims to implement next year - because there was nothing new to test.

“Last year I was in the opposite situation [not fighting to win] and I thought it was fair,” Alex explained when asked by Autosport whether, being second in the standings and a title contender, he had not “earned” some upgrades.

“Maybe now I see it as less fair,” he added, with a smile. “Last year, Marc didn’t get more support from Ducati either, even with 200 more points than me. I’ve been on both sides of it, so I fully understand that policy.”

Alex Marquez, Gresini Racing, Marc Marquez, Ducati Team

Photo by: Gold and Goose Photography / LAT Images / via Getty Images

The policy he references is that Ducati, when providing a new part to a rider, gives the same component to all riders using the same bike. Despite that apparent technical disadvantage on paper, Alex insists that getting upgrades wouldn’t change things much.

“I know that Marc, with my bike, would still have been faster than me this weekend,” he affirmed. “I know how fast Marc is, and that doesn’t frustrate me; on the contrary, it motivates me.”

Asked by Autosport about the situation, Marc Marquez played down suggestions that racing against a rival with the same top-tier equipment would add more value to his championship.

“That’s not something I decide, last year I was in that situation and you get what Ducati decides to give you,” he explained.

“For now, what we’re trying to do in the factory Ducati team is test things to increase that gap.”

Marc Marquez then shared a detail that has sparked some controversy.

Marc Marquez, Ducati Team

Photo by: Jose Breton - Pics Action - NurPhoto - Getty Images

“On Sunday during the race [at Aragon], we were riding a bike identical to Alex’s, because the new parts still need to be fully set up,” he said.

“Of course, he’s my brother and I wish him the best, but that’s not something I can decide.”

Marc Marquez won in Aragon ahead of his brother, returning Ducati to its position of recent dominance after victories for Honda and Aprilia in the preceding two events.