MotoGP: Alex Marquez signs a Gresini contract extension

Alex Marquez has signed a contract extension and will continue with Gresini Racing for another season.

Alex Marquez will continue racing with Gresini Racing next season, after signing a contract extension. Team Gresini Racing has also made a new agreement with Ducati Corse to stay with the manufacturer for two seasons.

Just days after his maiden MotoGP race win, Alex Marquez unexpectedly resigned with Gresini. It is not yet known who will join Marquez on a Ducati next season in Team Gresini Racing.

After just two seasons with Ducati, Team Gresini Racing has taken eight podiums, including five race wins. The team has also claimed three pole positions, and in total bagged 355 points in two years.

Alex Marquez is currently ninth in the MotoGP standings with a win in the Silverstone Sprint and a third in Argentina. He is ahead of his teammate, Fabio Di Giannantonio, who is sixteenth in the standings and has yet to resign.

Team Gresini Racing is currently seventh in the teams’ standings, behind the factory Yamaha squad. They are the top independent team and are on the leading manufacturer – Ducati who are dominating the constructors’ standings.

Marquez said: “I’m very happy to continue with the team. I’ve always expressed this desire of mine and when things go the right way it’s even easier to understand each other. To continue together for the next season is key in order to keep growing with this bike, and with this team everything is going to be easier.

“I would like to thank Nadia first and foremost, and then the whole team who made me feel at home from day one. We’ll keep growing and surprising.”

Nadia Padovani Gresini said: “Alex is first of all a wonderful person and it was a pleasure to welcome him in our Gresini Family. The results speak for themselves and it was a logical step for us to continue together and raise the bar some more. He already scored a race win and a pole position in his debut year with Ducati, showing he could battle with the best from the get-go.

“We will now try to find some continuity together in the next season. I would like to thank the whole Ducati family as we’ll continue with them for the next two years; we already showed we are a good combination this year as well as in 2022… so the goal is to continue to excite and be excited.”

Image credit: motogp.com