“When Marc Marquez crashed I was behind him, he did nothing wrong, I was scared”
Marquez crashed for the fifth time across the weekend in the German MotoGP warm-up, emerging gingerly with a fractured finger although he was passed fit to race.
But, he withdrew, claiming he “wasn’t ready” in a dreadful indictment of the bike that was causing him such physical stress.
“Honestly, before he had the crash I was behind him,” said LCR Honda rider Takaaki Nakagami.
“I couldn’t see anything wrong with his riding.
“The speed was good. I didn’t see, from behind, that he did anything wrong.
“But he lost the rear. The bike doesn’t stop that spin.
“I saw a massive high-side.
“I was scared because we use the same bike!
“I had the same feeling that the corner was really tricky.
“It’s going downhill and I was losing it, a couple of times, having the same feeling.
“It was difficult to manage. The bike had less grip.
“We need to find a solution for a safer bike.”
Nakagami was the only Honda rider to start the grand prix on Sunday at the Sachsenring, eventually finishing 14th.
The other three are all sidelined with broken bones - surely the starkest reminder that their machinery is forcing them, as Marquez claims, to take too much risk.
Marquez broke a finger, Joan Mir was absent with a hand injury, and Alex Rins has a broken leg.
Even Nakagami endured a horrible crash on Friday in Germany, tangling up his previously-injured hand, but he emerged without major damage.
“It cannot be worse,” Nakagami said about the Japanese manufacturer’s current state in MotoGP.
“We are normally four riders, four bikes. But today I was the only one on track for Honda.
“I wish them a speedy recovery to be strong.
“As you can see, it is a really, really tough moment.
“At least I feel OK. It’s difficult but I’ll try to not give up.
“I believe HRC have ideas to improve, to change, the bike or to be more competitive.
“I don’t want to fight for a point, or to fight for 15th.
“All I can do is keep pushing, and not take any big risks.”
The Dutch MotoGP at Assen is next weekend and Marquez has hinted that he plans to compete despite the punishing toll of his three days in Germany.
James was a sports journalist at Sky Sports for a decade covering everything from American sports, to football, to F1.
