The six-time champion looked to be cannily managing his front tyre during the 26-lap encounter, only for a hit from Enea Bastianini to apparently bring him undone.
New-for-2024 MotoGP regulations stipulate pressure of minimum 1.8 bar for 60 percent of a race distance, or else a 16-second penalty is applied (eight seconds in a Sprint).
Marquez fell afoul at Assen and thus the #93 Gresini Racing entry dropped from fourth at the chequered flag to 10th in the official classification, representing a loss of seven championship points.
He was speculated to be looking for heat in his front tyre, and hence pressure, when he waved Fabio Di Giannantonio past him on Lap 8, presumably having seen on his dashboard that he was under 1.8 bar.
In the end, though, #93 did not meet the 60 percent threshold, with a forceful late-race pass by Enea Bastianini cited as the reason for his downfall.
The Italian made contact at Haarbocht on Lap 21 which forced Marquez to sit up, and he identified that as the moment when the pressure in his front Michelin tyre dropped again.
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“Unfortunately, even if by very little, we’re outside the technical parameters regarding tyre pressure and therefore we accept the penalty,” he said.
“It’s really a shame to leave here with such few points: we could have scored two fourth place finishes but… [he crashed out of the Sprint].
“The coming together with Bastianini surely played a part but we’re not looking for excuses, I was playing well with tyre pressure until that moment.
“Let’s wrap up this weekend and turn our focus on Germany.”
Marquez’s Crew Chief Frankie Carchedi wrote on X, “We were 0.01 out for 1 lap, however we have the data to understand why it was registering lower than it should have been.”
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