Is racing talent in the genes?

Four of the six star brothers, furthermore, have won world championships; two of them a total of ten between them. That’s the Marquez pair – older brother Marc (28) has eight across all classes, 24-year-old Alex one each in Moto3 and Moto2. Both ride Hondas, and were to have been in the factory Repsol team last year, before Marc crashed out from the very first race. For 2021, Alex has been shifted to the satellite LCR team.

The Rossi clan is not far behind with nine titles, but all of them belong to 42-year-old Valentino. Luca Marini, his half-brother, has at 23 yet to win a title, but was a strong Moto2 challenger last year, with six wins in the class. While Valentino dropped to Yamaha’s Petronas satellite team, Marini has joined MotoGP on a satellite Ducati, in the family VR46 colours, and will likely continue to benefit from big brother’s racing stature, with news in late April that Valentino will be mounting a full two-rider MotoGP team next year.

Finally, the Espargaro brothers. Pol, at 29 the younger by two years, won the Moto2 championship, and while he is yet to win a MotoGP race in seven years of trying, his talent was recognised by Honda, who put him alongside Marc in the factory team this year. Aleix Espargaro has podiums in the top two classes in a long career, but recent results have been hampered with four years on the uncompetitive Aprilia. A technical step up this year offers some improvement.

Clearly there are advantages in having an elder brother paving the way, providing a target, and well as sharing the practice and training away from the track (all of these brothers get on famously, though sibling rivalry might as easily come into play). And it opens doors. Determination is essential for racing success, but so also is opportunity. All these younger brothers had a major advantage over their contemporary rivals.

But it’s also a burden. When Marc Marquez was coming into the height of his powers, his father perhaps unwisely told me that, in their dirt-track training, “Alex is faster than Marc was, at his age”. He later tried to soften this by pointing out that the bikes were newer models and tyres had also improved, but the comment gained wide currency. When Alex made a relatively underwhelming Moto3 debut, he had a lot to live up to.

“You have to ignore what other people think. Marc helped me a lot, and still helps me,” he responded.

How about on-track clashes. “If I am fighting with Aleix, I will give him more room than other riders,” grinned Pol Espargaro. As it has turned out, such family infighting hasn’t actually been a factor. Yet.

So is there something in the blood? There must be, if you look further in the 2021 paddock. Former Moto3 champion Brad Binder became a rare rookie MotoGP winner last year on the KTM; his younger brother Darryn is currently a lion of the Moto3 class. Moto2 sensation Raul Fernandez (winner of his third race in the class) has a younger brother starting out in Moto3.

That wraps it up for the premier series, but Moto2 championship favourite Sam Lowes’s identical twin brother Alex is a race-winning World Superbike contender; while the non-identical Turkish Oncu twins Can (youngest-ever GP winner) and Deniz are tipped for big championship futures.

There are plenty of other past GP-winning examples, including the French Sarron brothers Christian and Dominique, and three “Fireball” Aoki brothers from Japan. But as the championship grows older there are increasing numbers also of father-son combinations to prove that blood is thicker than petrol.

Valentino’s father Graziano Rossi was a noted competitor and GP winner before injury cut short his career; following the path set by fellow-Italians Alberto and Nello Pagani, the first father-son race winners.

Kenny Roberts and his son Kenny Junior are the only pair to have won World Championships; but that might be due to change. Honda’s first 500cc champion Wayne Gardner’s son Remy is fast coming of age in Moto2, leading the championship after the first three races, and is on KTM’s ladder offering a clear path to MotoGP. Remy races with the number 87, in tribute to Dad’s 1987 title.

The list could go on, and will doubtless do so in years to come. Talent clearly does run in families, and opportunity follows an elder’s success.

Images courtesy of Motorsport Images.