Marc Marquez says brother Alex was right to race cautiously

Marc Marquez has said his brother Alex was right to be cautious when racing him in Malaysia, where Marc passed Alex into the first corner on lap one. Marc goes into the Qatar Grand Prix at Lusail on the brink of an eighth MotoGP title, with the chance to clinch his tenth world championship overall this weekend.

Alex finished third in Malaysia, behind Pedro Acosta and Marc, and rode behind his brother for a number of laps before Marc began pulling away. Alex is set to miss the Qatar race after undergoing shoulder surgery following Sepang. Marc said on Thursday that brothers have to look out for each other's interests in such situations.

Marc added that racing for Ducati means neither rider would throw a bike at the other while a title is at stake. He said that doing so would make a rider a bad brother, and that such a rider should call and apologise.