‘It was a podium and I tried for it’ – Alex Marquez on dramatic crash at Italian GP as Francesco Bagnaia secures victory
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Updated 12/06/2023 at 09:00 GMT
It was a disappointing day for Alex Marquez, who missed out on the chance of a podium finish at the Italian Grand Prix. In the end the day belonged to Marquez's Ducati team-mate Francesco Bagnaia, who secured top spot and his second consecutive win on the Italian circuit after also winning the sprint race on Saturday. The win extends his lead at the top of the rider's championship to 21 points.
Alex Marquez
Image credit: Getty Images
Alex Marquez said he perhaps should have settled for a top-five finish after his crash at the Italian Grand Prix which cost the Ducati racer a podium finish.
Marquez managed to pass Luca Marini on lap 11 to move into third but could not avoid going into the gravel, seemingly succumbing to the pressure of holding his position.
The Spaniard was clearly not having much luck at Mugello after also crashing out of Saturday’s sprint race following a collision with Brad Binder.
“I was pushing in a good way until that point,” said Marquez in quotes published by crash.net.
“I was expecting to lose the front everywhere apart from there. So, I was too confident in that point. I got in a little bit more [tight to the kerb], I touched the white line also a little bit more, there’s a little bump and I lost the front.
“A shame because we were fighting for a podium. Maybe today, I needed to say, ‘OK, take a top five’. But it was a podium and I tried for it."
The Mugello course was clearly a punishing one, as Marquez recalled surviving an earlier scare after attempting to move in between his brother Marc and Luca Marini before looking to move past Jack Miller.
Marquez clipped Miller, but the pair stayed up.
“It was really, really strange,” he added “But it’s what we always say, the slipstream absorbs you.
“I was not really late on the brakes because, as you saw, I didn't turn too far [from the apex]. And I was braking with the same pressure as always.
“But when you lose all the downforce and have two bikes [ahead], it was like impossible, 'vroom’ [I went between them].
“I said ‘f**k’! I was shitting my pants, honestly!”
In the end the day belonged to Marquez's Ducati team-mate Francesco Bagnaia, who secured top spot and his second consecutive win on the Italian circuit after also winning the sprint race on Saturday.
The win extends his lead at the top of the rider's championship to 21 points over Marco Bezzecchi, who finished in eighth.
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