Marquez’s decision will be made after the warm-up! What happened with his glove

Alex Márquez recently gave MotoGP fans a few scares: on Friday, he was involved in a serious crash at the TT Circuit in Assen, which brought the practice session to a halt. It brought back memories of Barcelona, where he had suffered serious injuries a few weeks ago, including damage to a vertebra and his collarbone. He also had a serious crash at Assen last year. However, the diagnosis on Friday evening of this year’s Assen weekend was relatively reassuring: grazes and a bruised shoulder. His collarbone remained unharmed.

He’s racing, he’s not racing, he’s racing...

Consequently, Alex Márquez was given the all-clear to race on Saturday morning. He took part in FP2 and rode confidently. But then came the shock news in Q2: Alex Márquez was pulling out. He therefore accepted 12th on the grid, not even attempting to fight for pole position. He did, however, take part in the Sprint – unlike his team-mate Fermin Aldeguer, for whom the race was over following his Friday crash (just a few minutes before Alex Marquez’s).

Willkommen zum Rennwochenende in Assen

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Fans

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Paddock

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Jorge Martin

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Fabio di Giannantonio

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Luca Marini

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Toprak Razgatlioglu

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Pedro Acosta & Brad Binder

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Enea Bastianini

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Der Start des Sprints

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Fabio Quartararo

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Ai Ogura

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Joan Mir

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Joan Mir

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Pedro Acosta

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Fans

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Diogo Moreira

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Cal Crutchlow

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Luca Marini

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Francesco Bagnaia

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Marc Márquez

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Alex Márquez

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Alex Rins

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Marco Bezzecchi

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Raúl Fernández

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Marc Márquez

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Maverick Viñales

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Jorge Martin

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Qualifying - Ai Ogura, Jorge Martin & Marco Bezzecchi

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Sprint - Ai Ogura, Raúl Fernández & Fabio di Giannantonio

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Willkommen zum Rennwochenende in Assen

© Gold & Goose

After finishing 13th in the sprint, the Gresini Ducati rider said: “I’ve decided to continue spending more time and completing more laps on the bike, whilst at the same time recovering from my shoulder and collarbone injury and the crashes at Montmeló (near Barcelona, ed.). I think that’s the best way to get my body back into shape.” Assen is his second attempt at a comeback, following Brno, after the serious crash with Acosta at the Catalan Grand Prix.

Time on the track to aid recovery

Commenting on his crash on Friday, he said: “Yesterday’s crash wasn’t planned, of course, but today it was important to ride the sprint without taking any risks, to build up gradually from less to more, and to try not to overtake anyone, but simply to stay on the track and complete laps.” Starting from 12th on the grid, he lost just one position.

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Márquez added: “Yesterday I made a big mistake when I tried to push beyond my limits, because the first fast lap was good and I was already in 6th or 7th place. So I wanted to finish second, and that wasn’t the right mindset given my current condition.” So he simply overreached himself.

That’s why the glove didn’t protect him

On top of that, when he crashed, his protective gear wasn’t fitted properly. That’s why he suffered bad grazes. Márquez: “It was my fault. Before the attack, I’d taken off my helmet and gloves; I was sweating profusely, and everything was soaked through. I’d fastened the glove, but because of the sweat and the heat, I should have fastened it a bit tighter. So that was entirely my fault, and I’d like to apologise to Alpinestars, because ultimately it’s their reputation at stake, but it was the rider’s fault.” Alpinestars supplies Marquez with protective gear such as leather suits and gloves.

After Friday’s crash, Marquez had a thorough check-up. He revealed: “My collarbone’s fine. That’s the most important thing. Today I’m not feeling great – my head, my neck and everywhere else – but it’s okay.”

Here’s what’s next on Sunday

What’s the plan for race day now? Marquez: “Tomorrow we’ll do the same as today. We’ll try to take part in the warm-up. After the warm-up, we’ll decide whether or not to race. But if we do race, I’ll try to complete as many laps as possible – though without taking any risks and as calmly as possible.” So, a sort of rehabilitation race without pressure – and, above all, with as little risk of a crash as possible – and without any further scares.