Alex Marquez to join brother Marc at Honda MotoGP team

Alex Marquez will ride alongside his older brother and six-time MotoGP world champion Marc at Honda next season, the team announced on Monday.

The 23-year-old Alex Marquez, who added the Moto2 world title this year to the Moto3 crown he won in 2014, has signed a one-year deal with the constructors' champions.

"He will move from the intermediate class to partner eight-time world champion Marc Marquez in 2020 for his debut season in the premier class," Honda said in a statement.

The younger Marquez replaces three-time world champion Jorge Lorenzo, who retired after the weekend's season-ending Valencia Grand Prix.

Alex has been riding for Kalex in Moto2. He won five races in the 2019 campaign, taking the title by three points from South African Brad Binder.

The announcement means that Briton Cal Crutchlow and Frenchman Johann Zarco miss out on joining Honda's top outfit.

The 34-year-old Crutchlow, who races for Honda-LCR, finished ninth in the 2019 standings. He has won three races and finished on the podium 19 times in his MotoGP career.

Zarco, a two-time Moto2 champion, moved up to MotoGP last season. He raced the final three grands prix for Honda's second string, having struggled earlier in the season with KTM.