Marc Marquez explains COTA MotoGP crash: “Big mistake, I hit the wall at high speed”
Marc Marquez rebounds from 190km/h accident to lead Friday practice at the US MotoGP.
A big 190km/h mistake sent Marc Marquez bouncing across the gravel and into a trackside barrier on only his fourth lap of the US MotoGP weekend.
The reigning world champion took responsibility for the incident, which he attributed to overexuberance at a track notorious for its ever-changing bumps.
“Not the best way to start,” Marquez told MotoGP.com.
“I made a big mistake in the morning. I believed too much in the track, in the bike, in me.
"I need to start more carefully at this kind of circuit.
“Because, for example, Austin is a very nice circuit, but from one year to the other, there are always new bumps.
“Turn 10 is one of my favourite points, I ride in automatic mode. I remember what I did in the past years, and I did the same.
"This year, there are a lot of different bumps, and you need to ride in a different way.
“The fact I hit the wall at high speed [means] I have a lot of pain in the neck and on the back.
"I will be able to ride, but now it's time to work with the physio.”
With bandages on his left hand, the sore seven-time COTA winner returned for the closing ten minutes of FP1, when he set the fourth fastest lap time.
A slippery track then caught out ten riders during the afternoon Practice session.
Marquez was not among them, the Spaniard showing extra caution after his FP1 error while he set to work on used medium tyres.
Fastest on old rubber, Marquez later exchanged the top spot with fellow Ducati rider and Brazilian MotoGP rival Fabio di Giannantonio during time attacks.
Unlike last Sunday, Marquez came out on top, while Trackhouse Aprilia rider Ai Ogura snatched a late second place ahead of di Giannantonio.
“The fact that I had that big crash in the morning meant that in the afternoon, I was very calm," Marquez said. "Also, I saw many yellow flags, so the track was more slippery, the front tyre was sliding a lot.
“I was calm, but then in the second run, step by step, I came back with the normal feeling, and I'm happy with our day because we didn't start in the best way possible.
"Colder temperatures are expected tomorrow, which will likely change the behaviour of the bike and the track: we'll need to come up with the best strategy.”
Factory Ducati team-mate and reigning COTA winner Francesco Bagnaia finished the session in eighth place to also secure direct Qualifying 2 access.
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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.
