The sixth round of the 2024 FIM Grand Prix World Championship took place from May 24-26 at the Circuit de Catalunya in Spain.
The Gresini MotoGP Team featured the Spanish sibling duo, Marc Marquez (#93) and Alex Marquez (#73), for the season.
Both riders failed to advance from Q1 in qualifying, starting from 13th and 14th on the grid. In the Sprint race held on Saturday, Marc Marquez maintained his recent strong form, securing second place, while Alex Marquez finished 14th after a first-lap incident.
The main MotoGP race on Sunday, a 24-lap affair covering approximately 112 kilometers, saw both riders climbing positions after the first lap, reaching 10th and 12th. Throughout the race, they carefully managed tire degradation while pushing hard, with both opting for a medium front and soft rear tire compound, differing from the majority of the field.
Over 40 intense laps, Marc Marquez had climbed to fifth by mid-race, with Alex Marquez in eighth. In the closing stages, they continued to rise. Marc Marquez secured third place, his third consecutive podium finish, while Alex Marquez, despite battling rear tire wear, finished seventh.
After the Catalan GP, Marc Marquez commented, “We are improving day by day, but obviously, we can’t always compensate for the qualifying issues like we did here and in France; on the other hand, this has always been my worst track, so to be on the podium twice is a great achievement. It’s a good sign for the rest of the season. Now, let’s focus on Mugello, especially on solving our one-lap performance issues.”
Alex Marquez said, “I felt good all weekend, and today’s result shows that. I struggled a bit at the start, maybe because I didn’t want to compromise the soft rear too early. Anyway, it was positive. Clearly, we need to find something extra on Friday (to directly qualify for Q2), and we’ll start in Mugello.”
