Pramac Ducati MotoGP rider Johann Zarco has hit out at Marc Marquez in a war of words following a terrifying collision in second practice for the German MotoGP round at the Sachsenring on Friday.
Marquez lost the front of his Repsol Honda under braking into Turn 1 and his wayward RCV wiped out the unsuspecting Zarco, who was exiting pit lane.
Zarco’s Desmosedici GP23 machine was ripped apart in the incident, but both riders were unscathed.
Afterwards, Marquez said that Zarco could have ‘avoided the situation’, adding ‘the guy that is coming out of the pit lane is the guy who needs to watch’.
In response, Frenchman Zarco said Marquez should ‘think twice’ before speaking, claiming the Spanish rider is ‘losing a bit of control when he is speaking’.
Zarco said: “I like the way Marc is riding and the way he is pushing. He is a champion, but he is losing a bit of control when he speaks.
“He should think twice before speaking because just having the idea to say that this is my fault, this is not acceptable.”
Explaining the incident from his perspective, Zarco said: “I was waiting on the outside, I went out of the pit lane, then I was braking; then I turned and I saw a big group coming.
“I lifted up the bike, then I saw the bike of Marc. I lifted up my bike a little more and he hit only my bike – not my legs or feet.
“First thing, he could have at least come when I was on the floor. I can understand he wanted to run to his bike to get another lap time, but because of the red flag he could have seen it was okay.”
Zarco admitted the clash could be described as a racing incident, but said he felt aggrieved that Marquez was attempting to blame him ‘because I’m a nice guy’.
“I think we can say it was kind of a racing incident. This can happen, even if it would be better it didn’t,” he said. “We can say that the exit of the pit lane is a bit tricky, but we are used to it and we try to be careful, as I was [when he tried to exit].
“I’m a nice guy and he can’t put the blame on me because I’m a nice guy.
“I saw him 15 minutes after the practice. He came pretty quick and he said, ‘I was scared’. okay, but don’t say it was someone’s fault.
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