In the dying laps of the Aragon Motorcycle Grand Prix, Marquez made a mistake and opened the door for Bagnaia to make a move for the final place on the podium.
Bagnaia went around Marquez’s outside and the pair made contact. As the bikes locked together, Bagnaia fell to the ground and was pinned down by the bikes.
The crash left Bagnaia bruised but otherwise devoid of any serious injuries.
It capped off a tough weekend in the title race for the Italian, who lost the points lead to Pramac Ducati rider Jorge Martin, who has a 23-point advantage heading to Misano.
“I was in front, completely. Already before changing direction,” said an irate Bagnaia after the incident.
“So what is making me more angry is looking at the data. Because as soon as I entered Turn 10, I was in front, leaving space, because I knew that he was there, but I was with much more speed. So I didn’t need to close the line to be in front.
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“As soon I did it, as soon as I entered Turn 10, I heard his engine opening the throttle, opening gas. This is bad. And then the thing that is even worse is the fact that he remained from 40 to 60 percent of throttle until he crashed.
“So it’s very dangerous to have someone that does things like this because normally you try to avoid contact. You don’t want to have contact with anyone. And from the data, from what happened, someone is not of the same idea.”
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Not only does this affect the race but also the Championship!!!!!!
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📲 RACE CENTRE https://t.co/IK7Uxil5QQ#MotoGP pic.twitter.com/u6DEC2iJC0— Fox Motorsport (@Fox_Motorsport) September 1, 2024
Marquez’s brother, Marc, said post-race that the #73 rider must not have seen Bagnaia.
VR46 Racing Team’s Marco Bezzecchi offered a scathing assessment of the crash, suggesting it was “impossible” that Marquez didn’t see Bagnaia.
“I think it’s clear, for everybody who’s ridden a bike at least once, that when you make a mistake and you go wide, almost outside of the track, and then you come back, first of all you have to check who is coming,” said Bezzecchi.
“But also it’s clear that when Pecco overtook him, before going right, it’s impossible that Alex didn’t see him. Either he’s blind, or he didn’t want to see him.”
Post-race, some riders apportioned blame to Marquez. Others, including Australia’s Jack Miller, said it was a racing incident, albeit avoidable. Another cohort said Bagnaia was partly to blame.
Social media has been rife with criticism of Marquez, who responded on Tuesday to denounce suggestions he wrecked Bagnaia intentionally.
“After reading some statements I would like to explain the following: I would never deliberately crash with another rider and I will never accept to be charged with it, it is not in my DNA and it is not in the DNA of this sport,” he wrote.
“The most important thing for me is the conversation I had yesterday with Pecco and, from my side, the issue is settled. Now it’s time to rest and recover my body to be at 100 percent in Misano.”
FIM stewards determined no further action was necessary after investigating the incident.
They determined neither rider was determined to be predominantly responsible for the crash.
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