Marc Marquez: Mistake from Pecco, too aggressive for two points

Marc Marquez appeared to agree with the FIM Stewards that the late race clash with Francesco Bagnaia in the Portimao MotoGP, which left both Ducati riders on the ground, had been a racing incident.

But he also felt it was at the ‘very limit’ of such a description and that the reigning double champion had made a 'mistake' in launching the ‘optimistic’ re-pass attempt.

The incident occurred moments after Marquez had outbraked the fading factory Ducati rider for fifth place into the Turn 5 hairpin, with three laps to go.

As the Spaniard then drifted slightly off line at the apex, Bagnaia retaliated by diving for the gap - a move the Italian later insisted had not been risky - but the pair promptly collided and crashed.

“Just an impact on the shoulder, but nothing important,” said Marquez, who took a trip to the medical centre after remounting to finish in 16th.

But could the incident have been avoided?

“Of course it's impossible to agree - two riders, one hour after the incident!” Marquez smiled.

“But when [we went to] Race Direction, I said to the Stewards, 'it’s a race incident, at the very limit'. That red line. But the Stewards must decide which is the limit.

“For me, it was a mistake from Pecco, but not just the incident. Because in the end he tried to come back [underneath] and, OK was too optimistic, but contact can happen.

“But it was a mistake because we were fighting for 5th position (it would have been 4th after Vinales retired). Two more points, two less. 

"And he was suffering a lot with the tyres, especially with the rear tyre. 

“So in the end, when 3 laps remain, you know that you will lose the position, so it's not necessary to come back in that aggressive mode.

“But, he decided like this. The consequence to Ducati is 0 points [for both of us].”

Marquez - no stranger to accusations of overly aggressive riding during his career - rejected the theory that other riders are now more eager to fight with him.

“No, I don't think so. Or I don't want to think this,” he said. “Just today Pecco said to me that he was thinking about two more points and defending the position.

“In the first laps [of a race], you need to be aggressive. In the last laps, if you are fighting for the victory, maybe you can be aggressive. But today I think was not the moment to be like this. But OK he decided [to try] and for sure he learned.”

“He said that he tried to come back, but he didn't expect the contact,” Marquez added. “In the end, I received the contact. But luckily I didn't get injured. he didn't get injured and this is the best way.”

Although he hadn’t yet spoken to any Ducati staff, Marquez was confident the data would back up his case:

“The good thing is that they have the telemetry and they can see exactly what happened.”

The clash cost Bagnaia the early world championship lead, which has now been taken over by Sunday’s race winner Jorge Martin. 

Marquez, who had taken his first Gresini top three a day earlier in the Sprint, is now sixth in the standings.