Motorcycling – Marquez Blames Bagnaia Mistake For Costly Collision At Portuguese GP

PORTIMAO, Portugal: Gresini Racing’s Marc Marquez blamed Ducati’s Francesco Bagnaia for the collision on the Portuguese Grand Prix on Sunday that resulted in each riders crashing and shedding treasured factors within the MotoGP championship.

Both riders have been battling for fifth place with three laps to go on the Algarve International Circuit after they made contact on a flip and crashed, with Bagnaia unable to complete the race whereas Marquez finally completed sixteenth, simply exterior the factors.

MotoGP stewards investigated the incident and didn’t sanction both rider, a call that was accepted by each six-occasions champion Marquez and reigning champion Bagnaia.

“I told the stewards it’s a racing incident on the very limit. But the stewards must decide what is the limit,” Marquez informed reporters.

“For me, it was a mistake from Pecco (Bagnaia), but not just the incident because in the end he tried to come back. It was too optimistic and contact can happen… He was suffering a lot, especially with the rear tyres.

“In the end when three, four laps remain, you know you will lose the position. So it’s not necessary to come back in that aggressive mode, but he decided this and the consequence to Ducati is zero points.”

Bagnaia admitted he was in bother as he didn’t have the tempo to compete for a podium, however added that the overtake he tried was not dangerous.

“When a rider in front of you who you are battling with goes wide, what do you want to do? Overtake him again to take more points. So for me, it wasn’t risky,” he stated.

“I tried to be in front as (much as) possible, but when Pedro (Acosta) arrived, he was too fast. And when Marc arrived, he just tried to overtake, he went wide.

“I tried to close the line. He crossed his line and we collided. It’s something that makes me angry, but it’s normal. It’s a racing incident and we have to move on to the next one.”

Bagnaia’s crash price him dearly as he fell from first within the championship to fourth, 23 factors behind chief Jorge Martin, who gained Sunday’s race after taking the lead on the opening lap. Marquez is sixth, an extra 10 factors behind.

The subsequent race weekend is the Grand Prix of the Americas in Austin, Texas on April 12-14.

(This story has not been edited by News18 employees and is printed from a syndicated information company feed – Reuters)