Phillip Island, Australia – 18 October 2015: Álex Márquez continues to show plenty of progress in his rookie Moto2 season with the reigning Moto3 World Champion finishing ninth at today's Australian Grand Prix after a difficult weekend at Phillip Island.

The Team Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS rider came from 18th on the grid to enjoy an action packed day that saw him cut through the mid-pack and fight with Randy Krummenacher throughout the race. Having held him off by less than a tenth of a second the result marked a sixth top ten finish of the season for Márquez.

Having struggled at the start of the race the 19-year-old Spaniard eased his way into proceedings and was able to make plenty of progress throughout the field once he started to gain confidence. However, having been forced to start the race with a front tyre that had already done 12 laps, Márquez was held back in the closing stages of the race.

The next round of the Moto2 World Championship will take place at the Sepang International Circuit in Malaysia next weekend.

Álex Márquez: 9th 
“I think that over the weekend we had a lot of problems and it was difficult for me to have a good feeling on the bike. I had a bad start but then I recovered some positions and improved more and more. On the sighting lap I had a bad feeling with the front tyre so we started the race with a 12 lap old tyre. It wasn't a big problem, but in the last ten laps I was making some mistakes and I couldn't keep my rhythm. Malaysia is a circuit that I like and we need to go there with more motivation. If we arrive there with 100% motivation we can have a good result.”

Michael Bartholemy: Team Principal
“It was a difficult weekend and starting from position 18 and finishing ninth is not bad. I think that Álex was missing a little bit of rhythm because the group that he was initially fighting with finished sixth or seventh, so I think that it was possible for him to stay with them and gain three or four places.”