Marc Marquez's brutally honest verdict on Joan Mir contact in Thailand

Marc Marquez’s MotoGP Thai Grand Prix was a race of two distinct halves, separated by a crash, but the most controversial moment came when he made contact with Joan Mir in the closing stages.

Marquez fell from second place when trying to line up a move on race leader — and eventual winner — Francesco Bagnaia on lap 14, but remounted in 16th and began pushing forwards back into the points.

On lap 23, Marquez passed Joan Mir at turn three, but the two made contact as they reached the apex.

Marquez was on the inside and took the position, and Mir stayed on, but the former received a 'drop one position' penalty for irresponsible riding. Marquez was also docked a position post-race, and dropped from 11th to 12th, but was reinstated in 11th when it was found that he had served his drop one position penalty during the race.

Marquez said that, after the contact, he expected a penalty to come his way, but also felt it was a matter of perspective.

“I imagined that I will get a penalty,” Marquez admitted.

“I didn’t see the image, but if the image is coming from the straight, that’s one point of view, but if the image is in the very last part it’s another point of view.

“But, if it’s coming from the straight — already before the brake point I was parallel with Joan.”

Marquez explained that, rather than the simple case of him forcing Mir out of the way that the TV replays appeared to show, he felt the contact was a result of Mir trying to defend his position.

“For me, what happened is that he lost three positions on the previous lap, and just he tried to not give up,” Marquez said.

“And then in one point he released the brake, go in [entered the corner], and I didn’t have any option because I didn’t have the rear brake after the crash.

“Then I say ‘Okay, contact’. I mean, we had the contact, I knew that I would receive a penalty.”

Realising he would receive a penalty, and anticipating — correctly, as it turned out — he would be told to drop one position, Marquez pushed on in order to minimise the impact of the penalty on his race.

“But then I say: ‘I will attack, I will catch the rider in front, I will overtake him, I will let him past, and then overtake again’, and it’s what I did,” Marquez reacted.