Alex Marquez provided a surprising explanation for the bizarre crash that marred the MotoGP Austrian Grand Prix Practice session at the Spielberg circuit on Friday afternoon. The Gresini Ducati rider lost control of his bike after exiting Turn 1 and tumbled heavily, despite having been upright. The incident triggered a red flag and halted the session for several minutes.
The crash occurred in the final quarter-hour of the session, just as riders were beginning to push for meaningful lap times. As a result, less than 12 minutes remained when action resumed. Marquez himself escaped serious injury and managed to bounce back to secure a top-10 lap with his spare bike, ensuring a place in Q2.
Speaking after the session, Marquez revealed that a brake issue was the root cause. "The brakes are always quite on the limit here and sometimes they lock a little bit," he said. "At that point they were a little bit locked. It was the first flying lap of the run, so it's just that. Here we also have a lot of wheelie, and when the front wheel comes back down, everything needs to be perfect to not crash. In that moment, the brakes had a strange problem."
He added that the crash was not a pleasant one because it was unexpected. "Your body isn't ready for that. But everything is okay," he stated. This was not the only odd incident for Marquez on Friday. In the morning session, he ran off the circuit after a large piece of his lower fairing came loose on the left side. "I tried a few different modifications, but I also had that issue in FP1 with the fairing, which was the main issue for us, and I was not able to do back-to-back comparisons," he explained.
Nevertheless, Marquez remained focused on the bigger picture. "It's not how the weekend starts, it's how the weekend finishes. So we'll try to turn things around," he said. The Spanish rider is known for his ability to bounce back from shaky Fridays and Saturdays, as demonstrated recently at Misano.
With inconsistent performance, Marquez must quickly address the brake and fairing issues to compete in qualifying and the race. The Spielberg circuit demands stability under braking and high-speed performance, making the incidents in practice a concern. However, Marquez's never-give-up mentality is a valuable asset for achieving a strong result at the Austrian Grand Prix.
The incident also draws attention to the Gresini Ducati team, which must ensure Marquez's bike is in prime condition for the rest of the weekend. With limited time, they need to thoroughly evaluate the braking system and bodywork. Qualifying and the race will be the true test for Marquez and his team.
Baca Juga
Marco Bezzecchi nyaris gagal ke Q2 MotoGP Austria 2026 setelah kesalahan usai red flag. Simak analisis lengkap dan komentarnya.
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