Late crash costs Marc Marquez second

Marc Marquez blew a golden chance to end a painful and punishing Italian MotoGP weekend on the podium when he fell out of second place in the closing stages of yesterday’s Mugello clash.

The Repsol Honda rider looked like rebounding from three crashes, including a horrific high-speed incident on the approach to the first corner on Friday, with a stunning second place.

He had swept by factory Honda teammate Dani Pedrosa to seize second on lap 19 when he crashed out just two laps later after losing the front at Turn 7.

His body language said it all as 20 vital world championship points were lost at the end of a bruising weekend for the impressive rookie.

He couldn’t disguise his disappointment and he said: “I am very disappointed. With all the problems of the weekend I was right there fighting for the podium with Dani and in the last five laps I was able to pass him and tried to push a little because I felt so good on the bike. 

“I tried to pass him earlier but during the race I was quite tired when I followed Jorge (Lorenzo) and Dani. But when Dani slowed down a little bit for me it was quite good because I was struggling a lot, especially with my left arm. I was doing everything with my left hand and I also felt big pain in my right leg.

“I tried to save some energy for the last laps. It felt good to be riding behind Dani and it was quite easy. For that reason I tried to pass him at the end and push because I felt so safe on the bike but then I made the mistake. I lost the front and rear tyre at the same time.”

His race crash was his fourth of a crash strewn weekend and he is now the most prolific crasher of the season with seven spills in the first five races.

He added: “Four crashes is too much. The first crash was quite stupid and the second crash was the biggest one. The third crash I went wide and then I crashed on the gravel. But I have learnt many things. I did just two big mistakes, the crash in the race and one at the end of the straight.”

He was still able to take some positives from the weekend; most significantly his competitive pace after such heavy falls in practice.

He said: “I learnt of lot of things in the race because this is one of the most technical circuits and I learnt many things behind Dani and Jorge.

“With my style here I was struggling a little, but it wasn’t because of the set-up, it was more my riding style. Following Dani was big help for the future. I will try to use these things at the next races.

“This circuit is difficult for the change of direction and that’s where I was struggling the most and also in the last corner and that is where I saw Dani and Jorge using different lines.”

For six pages of coverage from the Mugello MotoGP weekend, see the June 5 issue of MCN.