Moto2: Marquez joins Mir for another year at Marc VDS

Moto2 title contender Alex Marquez will remain with the Marc VDS squad in the middleweight class for 2018, after signing an extension to his deal that will see him partner fellow Spaniard Joan Mir as the Moto3 title leader steps up.

Marquez has finally returned to winning form in 2017 for the first time since lifting the Moto3 crown back in 2014, taking two race wins so far this year to sit third in the title – and says he’s delighted to be staying put.

“I’m happy to announce that I’ll continue with Team Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS in Moto2 next season. I want to say a big thank you to the team for believing in me and I hope I can repay their faith in me with more wins this year and an even stronger 2018 season. For me there was no better place to go; this is the best team for me and I really feel part of the family here.

“The stability that staying with the same team brings is also important, so I’m happy that my crew will remain unchanged for 2018. To know where you’re riding the following year so early in the season is good for the confidence, so now we can focus solely on the next races and closing the gap to the two riders ahead of me in the championship standings.”

His sentiments were echoed by team boss Michael Bartholemy, who admitted that the deal wasn’t hard to sign considering both were keen to remain together.

“I’m happy that we have reached an agreement with Álex Márquez to stay with the team for next season. If I’m honest it wasn’t a difficult deal to broker, as Álex wanted to stay and we absolutely wanted him to be the rider to spearhead our assault on the Moto2 World Championship next season.

“We always knew Álex had the potential to be a championship contender in Moto2 and this year that’s exactly what he’s become. He’s shown he has the ability to run at the front and challenge for race wins and podiums every week and that will be even more important for the team next year as Moto2 rookie, Joan Mir, adapts to the demands of the intermediate class.”