For the first time since the 2014 Dutch GP, both Marc and Alex Marquez claimed victory on the same day as the duo won the MotoGP™ and Moto2™ races at the Shark Helmets Grand Prix de France on Sunday.
It was Marquez’ third win of the season on board his Repsol Honda Team bike as he extended his lead at the top of the overall standings to eight points over second place finisher Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team) and afterwards, the 26-year-old explained how happy he was for his brother after he'd claimed victory in the intermediate class before the premier class race got underway.
“Yeah of course it’s an amazing day for our family,” said Marquez, with the brothers also winning on the same day at the 2014 Catalan GP, one race weekend before they did it again in Assen. “I’m happier for my brother than for me because my brother was one year and a half without finishing at the top and he was pushing a lot, never gave up and in Jerez he had a big chance and he wasn’t able (to).
“Today he did a very good race so yeah, I’m happy for him and of course happy for my race and happy with all the job Repsol Honda Team did because it was a tough track for us, tough conditions because normally in cold conditions we struggle. We used the soft front tyre, that we never use, and it was the best strategy.”
Alex Marquez (EG 0,0 Marc VDS), as Marc mentions, hadn’t won a race since the 2017 Japanese GP. So this was a massive result for the 23-year-old who now has two podiums to his name in 2019, the first coming in the form of a P3 in Austin.
“Feels so, so, so good. It’s been a long time since my last victory,” reflected Alex, who made a last-minute decision to switch from the soft to hard tyres ahead of the race on the grid.
“I think today we deserved it because we did a really good weekend, Friday we were struggling but working a lot for the race pace. But this morning everything changed. We used the soft tyre in the warm up and we saw the top riders went with the hard one that looked like, with these temperatures, worked a bit better. We changed on the grid and it was the best decision, that was the sure tyre, the best one.
“And I tried to make the best race I could, pushing alone, really focused and yeah, the gap was increasing lap by lap so I’m really happy. This is a team victory because we worked hard during all this time so yeah it’s for the guys and thanks.”
An eighth Championship is well in sight for Marc in 2019, but is a second possible for Alex? The latter will be hoping this win can prove to be a springboard in his season as the Spaniard lies 14 points off leader Lorenzo Baldassarri (FlexBox HP 40). The Marquez brothers have now won on the same Sunday three times and both will be hoping a fourth is just around the corner.