Marc Marquez has been cleared of any wrongdoing by Honda team-mate Takaaki Nakagami following the latest crash that forced him to withdraw from the German MotoGP.
Marquez was involved in five crashes across the weekend at the Sachsenring, with the final one in Sunday warm-up leading to the six-time champion fracturing a finger.
Although the Repsol Honda rider was given the medical all-clear to compete, Marquez opted to withdraw, seemingly due to growing concern over the safety of his RC213V, which has also been highlighted by Nakagami.
The Japanese has conceded to feeling “scared” at riding in the race after witnessing Marquez’s defining incident.
“Before he had the crash I was behind him,” said Nakagami, speaking to media after the race. “I couldn’t see anything wrong with his riding.
“The speed was good. I didn’t see, from behind, that he did anything wrong, but he lost the rear.
Take the short survey.
“The bike doesn’t stop that spin. I saw a massive high-side. I was scared because we use the same bike.
“I had the same feeling that the corner was really tricky. It’s going downhill and I was losing it, a couple of times.
“It was difficult to manage. The bike had less grip.”
Crucially, he added: “We need to find a solution for a safer bike.”
With Marquez sidelined, Nakagami went into the race as the sole Honda rider, and even then with a damaged hand following a crash on Friday.
With fellow Honda riders Joan Mir out with a hand injury, and Alex Rins a broken leg, Nakagami added: “It cannot be worse.
“We are normally four riders, four bikes. But I was the only one on track for Honda.
“I wish them a speedy recovery to be strong. As you can see, it is a really, really tough moment. At least I feel okay. It’s difficult but I’ll try to not give up.
“I believe HRC has ideas to improve, to change the bike, or to be more competitive.
“I don’t want to fight for a point or 15th. All I can do is keep pushing, and not take any big risks.”
The next round, the Dutch MotoGP, is this weekend in Assen.
Discussion about this post