Portimao MotoGP: Marc Marquez: ‘Big mistake, sorry to Miguel, penalty correct’

Marc Marquez has apologised for causing the violent impact with home star Miguel Oliveira in Sunday’s Portuguese MotoGP race.
Marc Marquez, Miguel Oliveira
Marc Marquez, Miguel Oliveira

The eight-time world champion lost control under braking for the Turn 3 h🦩airpin on lap 3, forcing him to release the brake.

Hoping to upright his Repsol Honda and run wide, Marquez instead veered to🐽wardsꦆ the apex, hitting the back of Jorge Martin and then slamming into the side of Oliveira.

The RNF Aprilia rider, who had delighted his home fans by taking the early lead before settling into second behind event✃ual winner Francesco Bagnaia, took the brunt of the impact on his upper right leg and was in obvious pain at the side of the track.

Fortunately, ♚X-rays didn’t show any fractures, but Martin fears he has a broken toe and possible ankle damage while Marquez was wearing a cast on his right arm when he🍎 explained the incident.

The #93 fractured a bone in his hꦍand, r😼equiring surgery, meaning he will miss next weekend's Argentina MotoGP.

Remote video URL

Before his surgery, Marquez said: “Honestly speaking, I am not worried about Argentina. Today, the most important is that Miguel is okay. B🌺ecause I did a big mistake on Turn [3], in the first part, and this created everything.

“I braked and had a massive lock with the front tyre. That meant 💎that I released the brakes. My intention was to go to the left side. But the bike stayed on a lean and I couldn’t avoid going to the right side.

“I was able to avoid Martin but couldn’t avoid Miguel. I was very worried for him because the contact was b🦩ig.

“I already said i🍃t personally - but I want to say sorry to him, to his team, to the Portuguese fans. I have been penalised for that mistake with a double long lap penalty, that I completely, completely agree.

“But apart from that, Iꩵ have a fe✨w injuries - my hand, my knee. We need to check. Let’s see. At the moment it’s not the most important, my situation.”

Marc Marquez, Miguel Oliveira
Marc Marquez, Miguel Oliveira

Marquez confirmed he had be﷽en using🌳 the brakes to make up for time lost due to a lack of drive grip out of the corners but insisted he had been ‘calm’ and trying to overtake Martin or Oliveira when the incident occurred.

“As you saw yesterday, the only way to do the lap time is on the brakes. And we are braking so late,” he said. “If you don’t ꧙brake late like this, you fi🤡nish 10th, 11th, 12th.

“But I wasn’t attacking. Because𓆉 we were not riding very very fast. I knew the race was long. I chose the medium rear tyre for the long distance. I was thi🀅nking to use the soft rear and attack in the beginning but I thought ‘okay I will keep calm’. And I was calm.

“On the first lap in that tur🐬n, I went wide alone because also I had a small lock. It was [something] that maybe also happened in the test but I was riding alone. This time unlucky for me, and especially Miguel, when I released the brakes the bike was going inside.”

'I’ve been penalised and I deserve it'

Marquez was given ꦗa double long lap penalty to be served in Argentina - but he will now miss that race anyway, due to injury. The penalty is not carried over into the next race.

Marquez added: “Of course, you never want to have these kinds of incidents. But it’s true that right now when we have a small mistake on the brakes - a lock or some movement - it is so easy to increase the✱ ꦅspeed, especially in the tight corners.

“Recently we saw this at Phillip Island [2022] for example. Wi🍷th Fabio Quartararo, but he was able to avoid. And my brother, who was n𓄧ot able to avoid Miller.

“We are braking so late. But even like this I was able to control during all weekend and you never want to crash an💦d 🃏I don’t want to finish a race like this. But maybe that hard option in the front was not ready or something.

“But if you see I went out from Turn 1 and 2 and I was far from them. I was not even close and not thinking to over🐼take. So you can explain many things but in the end, it’s my mistake which caused the crash of another rider.

"So I’ve been penalised and I deserve it.”

The FIM Stewards handed Marquez the double long lap for 'being overly aggressive and causing a crash. This... is consid𒉰ered irresponsible riding causing a danger to other competi🎀tors.'

However, some riders, including Martin and Aprilia’s Aleix Espargaro, felt Marquez should have been 🦩given a harsher penalty.

“In the rules briefing on Thursday, it was that penalty,” Marquez said. “If you overtake and create a dangerous situation and you💜 create a crash of another rider it’s a double long lap, for the first time. Then second time I think it’s a pit lane start. And third time is a ride through.

“So by the rules which they explained, it’s a double long lap p🔯enalty. But if the rules say heavier, I would accept because it was my mistake. But the rules say that the penalty is [a double long lap].”

Read More