Marc Marquez Reflects on Costly Mistake After Assen Sprint Crash: A Silver Lining in Unscathed Outcome

Marc Marquez's perspective on the "error" following his fall in the Assen sprint

"The silver lining is that I emerged unscathed – particularly noteworthy given this morning's events."

Marc Marquez was unable to complete his first MotoGP Sprint race of the season, experiencing an unexpected fall at the beginning of the second lap in Assen.

The rider from Gresini Ducati, who initially qualified seventh due to a rapid accident while attempting to overtake Aleix Espargaro at Turn 7 during the qualifying round, managed to move up two positions in the first lap.

However, his competition was abruptly cut short shortly thereafter, as he grazed the inside curb at the second turn, causing a sharp jerk that led to his downfall.

"Making a mistake and crashing is always undesirable," stated Marquez.

Right from the start, during the initial lap, I clipped the curb slightly and noticed there was a bump, making a mental note to be cautious on the following lap.

"However, lagging behind the pack, I overlooked the marker, encountered the same obstacle once more, and failed to maintain control of the front."

"Unfortunately for the race, the connection with the bike was outstanding, and now we have to regain that during the warm-up."

The eight-time world champion remarked, “On a bright side, I managed to avoid injury, especially during this morning's incident at Turn 7.

Numerous cyclists were in line for a tow. Subsequently, Aleix passed me during the final bend, leaving me slightly trapped behind him.

Truthfully, it wasn't my intention to pass him, but when I noticed he was heavily setting up for Turn 7, I seized the opportunity.

"My speed wasn't significantly higher than during my quickest lap when I encountered the bump. Fortunately, it was a solo crash."

The incident during the Sprint has resulted in Marquez falling 44 points behind the leader in the championship standings, Jorge Martin, and 29 points short of his soon-to-be teammate at the official Ducati team, Francesco Bagnaia.

Bagnaia and Martin crossed the finish line in the same positions they started from on Saturday, securing first and second places respectively.

With Marc unable to compete, his teammate and sibling Alex was the sole Gresini racer to cross the finish line.

Alex experienced a challenging race, maintaining the fourth position for the majority of the Sprint, before falling to seventh towards the end. Additionally, he was penalized with a long lap for going beyond the track boundaries.

This resulted in a three-second penalty after the race for Marquez, leading to him losing an additional position and ultimately being placed behind Fabio Quartararo in eighth.

"If there had been two fewer laps, the outcome could have been entirely different," he remarked.

All jesting aside, we faced some challenges with the rear tyre as the race neared its end, but conversely, we collected valuable data on the front hard tyre which is crucial for the upcoming full race.

"Now, we need to make some minor adjustments, and by tomorrow, we should be in a position to compete for a spot among the top five."

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