“It happened because I was too optimistic,” Marc Márquez explained after the sprint race for the MotoGP Grand Prix of Austria. In that short race, he rode in a lonely second place behind leader Francesco Bagnaia after Jorge Martín’s long lap penalty. In the end, a relatively easy podium finish did not come: the 31-year-old Spaniard crashed in turn 3 in the tenth of fourteen laps. It seemed a relatively harmless crash, which initially threw him far back before he parked his Ducati GP23 in the pit box of Gresini Racing later that lap.
Márquez spoke to the media about a ‘super good’ race until the crash, in which he took it easy for a long time. “But on the last lap I felt something and it was time to attack,” continued the six-time MotoGP champion. “I made up some time because I rode very cleanly. Then I tried to attack a bit more, but I was too optimistic. On that lap I already rode my fastest first corner of the race, but I pushed too hard.” There was a reason for that urge to attack in the final phase, explained Márquez. “I did it because it had been a long time since I felt I could take the lead. So I had to fight for the win. Of course I think Pecco had something left, but at least we were close.”
With conditions at the Red Bull Ring changing significantly on Saturday compared to Friday, Márquez said it was difficult to set the limit. “Especially when you’re behind others,” he said, adding that the front of his Ducati locked up just before he crashed. “During the race, the front locked up a lot, so it was a lot more difficult, but that’s part of it. Just before the crash, the brakes locked up, so I let go for a moment. Then when I braked again, I crashed because of the speed. You arrive at more speed when you lock up.”
In the championship, Márquez suffered another major setback due to his crash, especially since Bagnaia and Martín eventually finished in the first two positions. Both riders extended their lead over the rider from Cervera to 71 points. A blessing in disguise for Márquez is the fact that he will start the race from third position again on Sunday during the Grand Prix in Austria. The sprint race was also useful for learning a lesson, although for the Gresini rider it is a striking one: “That I should not ride faster, but more conservatively.”
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