Alex Marquez: Francesco Bagnaia "knew I was there” in Aragon MotoGP clash
Alex Marquez: “For me, if anyone could avoid that contact it was him, as he knew I was there."
Alex Marquez has explained that he didn’t see Francesco Bagnaia attempting to overtake until it was too late, during Sunday’s Aragon MotoGP.
The pair dramatically clashed over third place when Marquez ran wide into Turn 12, with five laps to go.
Bagnaia, who had been catching the Gresini rider, pulled slightly ahead on the exit of the corner before their paths crossed at the apex of Turn 13.
Marquez, on the inside, ran out of room and clipped the back of the factory machine, sending both riders down and out in a heavy accident.
"I had returned to the line and was riding on the inside, my head was already straight and that's when I felt the contact and that the bike was going straight,” Alex Marquez said in a press release by sponsor Estrella Galicia.
“I couldn't do anything, just try to see where the wall was, because we were heading straight for it.
"Pecco can charge at me, or I can charge at him, but nothing is going to change the result.
"For me, if anyone could avoid that contact it was him, as he knew I was there. I think if he was so fast, he could have overtaken me at another moment.”
The FIM Stewards took no further action after ‘neither rider was determined to be predominantly responsible for the incident’.
Speaking more in-depth to MotoGP.com, Marquez said: "Well, I'm fine. I have some impact on the left leg but nothing is broken.
“I was trying to make my best race, trying to be really constant. I made some small mistakes like everybody because the track was really slippery.
“Later on, we have the contact with Pecco. I went wide a little bit in Turn 12 and later on when I come back - I was not really out, I was quite on the line - I just go in to Turn 13 and I was not expecting him because I didn't see him.
“I was on my side of the bike and we had that small contact that made me pick up the bike and crashed together. I didn't see that anybody was coming. He closed a lot the line from the outside to the inside. And that's it. We end the race there and I'm sad for both.”
Asked about the Stewards verdict, Marquez reiterated that he felt Bagnaia should have left more room: “I think it’s something that can happen in racing.
"If somebody could see that I was there, it was him. Because he was on the outside. If you come from the outside you cannot close the line, at least you need to leave one metre for the other rider on the inside.
“It’s a change direction that many times we saw these things and that’s it. I'm sad because nothing will change what happened today.”
The accident means reigning champion Bagnaia has now slipped 23 points behind title rival Jorge Martin, who finished second to Alex's brother and team-mate Marc Marquez on Sunday.
Peter has been in the paddock for 20 years and has seen Valentino Rossi come and go. He is at the forefront of the Suzuki exit story and Marc Marquez’s injury issues.
