The German GP and the Sachsenring circuit, a fetish for Marc Márquez -he has won the 11 races he has contested-, has not started well for the Repsol Honda rider, who was involved in a spectacular fall and a bitter controversy with Johann Zarco in the second free practice.
The mishap, which could have caused serious injuries, occurred with three and a half minutes to go before the end of the second practice session, when the drivers are at stake for qualifying for Q2. Márquez was 13th at that time, 4 tenths off the best time in Bagnaia, and only 36 thousandths off Augusto Fernández’s cut-off time.
The Catalan rider braked at the end of the straight, but lost control of his Honda, which slid down the asphalt. Bad luck wanted that at that exact moment Zarco was joining the track at the end of the pit-lane and that the out-of-control Honda took him ahead. With the impact of the two motorcycles, the Frenchman jumped into the air, but he did not suffer any physical damage.
As a result of the accident, Márquez was unable to complete a good lap and was left out of the top 10 (18th), so he will have to go through the playoffs (Q1).
The controversy followed, as soon as the pilots had the microphones of the media in front of them. Marc Márquez blamed Zarco. “We have been very lucky to escape unscathed. I am a lot to admit guilt when I have it, but if anyone could save or avoid the situation, it was him,” said the Repsol Honda man on Dazn TV.
“When I saw that he lost the front end of the motorcycle, I was scared, because Zarco did not stop in the pit lane. It is one of the corners where it is easy to lose the front end when you come attacking. If you see that riders are coming fast, you have to stay in the pit lane, you cannot get back on the track because there is that risk, as happened with Petrucci and Pol in Aragón”, lamented Márquez.
The verbal reply from Johann Zarco (14th, also out of Q2) was not long in coming. “It’s a kind of racing incident. This can happen. Exiting the pit lane is a bit tricky, but we are used to it and we always try to be very careful, as I have been when I was waiting on the outside. I have come out of pit lane and I have seen a large group coming and I have raised the motorcycle, and when I have seen that Marc’s motorcycle is coming towards me, I have raised my body so that it only hits my motorcycle and not my leg or my foot”, recounted the Frenchman.
Zarco warmed up when it was explained to him that Márquez had blamed him for the incident. “When he was on the ground he could have at least gotten closer. I can understand him wanting to race to get the other bike and set another time. But with the red flag he could have at least gotten closer to see if everything was okay. I like how run Marc, he is a champion, but he is losing a bit of control now when he speaks. Because he should think twice before speaking. Because saying that it is only my fault is not acceptable”, the Frenchman dispatched.
“He needs to control his words a bit because I’m not stupid and he can’t focus on me. It’s ridiculous,” complained Márquez.
