The FIM Stewards had decided that the clash between Marc Marquez and Franceso “Pecco” Bagnaia at the Portugese MotoGP was a racing incident. As such, no penalty will be handed out.
The incident saw Bagnaia losing the front of his bike underneath Marquez, thereby taking both of them out of the race, with just 3 laps to go.
While he accepted the FIM Stewards’ decision, Marquez also felt it was at the ‘very limit’ of such a description, on the grounds that Pecco had made a ‘mistake’ in launching the ‘optimistic’ re-pass attempt.
The incident occurred moments after Marquez had outbraked the fading factory Ducati rider for fifth place into the Turn 5 hairpin at the Algarve Circuit in Portimao. As the Spaniard then drifted slightly off line at the apex, Bagnaia retaliated by diving for the gap but the pair promptly collided and crashed.
What Marquez said:
“Just an impact on the shoulder, but nothing important,” said Marquez, who remounted to finish in 16th and out of the points.
“But it was a mistake because we were fighting for 5th, 6th position. Two more points, two less. And he was suffering a lot with the tyres, especially with the rear tyre. So in the end, when 3 laps remain, you know that you will lose the position, so it’s not necessary to come back in that aggressive mode. But, he decided like this. The consequence to Ducati is 0 points.”
