Martin Schnellster & Marquez crash in Motegi Warm-Up

All eyes turned to Marc Marquez ahead of the eight-time world champion’s first start from pole position in 1071 days. He finished the session in seventh with a time of 1’45.583 but the bigger story was his crash at Turn 9 following retiring on a hard front/hard rear tire combination near the end. The Repsol Honda Team rider has been fine but will he be nervous ahead of the followingnoon’s 24-lap race? There was also drama for Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing), who suffered a technical issue trying to exit his pits early in the session before finishing eighth with a 1’45.584. With the track barely dry so far, the field tried the soft, medium and hard Michelin rear tires together to make a difficult decision for the GP.