Marc Marquez verdict on "mistake" after crashing from Assen sprint
'The positive note is that I could have hurt myself and that didn’t happen - especially this morning'
Marc Marquez failed to finish a MotoGP Sprint race for the first time this season after an unusual crash at the start of lap 2 in Assen.
The Gresini Ducati rider, starting seventh after a fast crash while trying to pass Aleix Espargaro at Turn 7 in qualifying, gained two places on the opening lap.
But his race came to an early end soon after, when he clipped the inside kerb at Turn 2, the resulting jolt sending him down and out.
“It’s never good to make a mistake and crash,” Marquez said.
"Already on the first lap, I hit the kerb a bit and realised there was a bump and said I'd be careful the next lap.
"But then being behind the group, I missed the line, hit the bump again and couldn't save the front.
“Too bad for the race because the feeling with the bike was excellent and now we need to get it back during warm-up.”
The eight-time world champion added: “The positive note is that I could have hurt myself and that didn’t happen – especially this morning at Turn 7.
"A lot of riders were waiting for a tow. Then Aleix overtook me at the last corner and I was a bit stuck behind him.
"I honestly didn't plan to overtake him but when I saw he was preparing a lot Turn 7, I jumped in.
"I wasn't going too much faster than on my fastest lap, but I hit the bump. Luckily, I crashed alone."
The Sprint mishap means Marquez has dropped 44 points behind title leader Jorge Martin and 29 from future factory Ducati team-mate Francesco Bagnaia.
Bagnaia and Martin finished where they had qualified, in first and second respectively, on Saturday.
With Marc down and out, team-mate and brother Alex was the only Gresini rider to reach the chequered flag.
Alex also had a complicated race, holding fourth for much of the Sprint, then dropping to seventh in the closing laps, when he also received a long lap penalty for exceeding track limits.
That became a three-second post-race penalty, which cost Marquez another place, meaning he was classified behind Fabio Quartararo in eighth.
“With two laps less, it could have been a whole different result,” he said,
“Joking aside, we struggled a bit towards the end with the rear tyre, but on the other hand we gathered some useful information on the front hard tyre which are important ahead of the full race.
“Now we need to do some fine tuning and tomorrow we’ll be capable of battling for the top five.”
