Leader Marquez crashes twice in Dutch GP practice
Ducati's MotoGP championship leader Marc Marquez has crashed twice on a painful day of practice at the Dutch Grand Prix in Assen.
The Spaniard said he was lucky to walk away with no major injuries ahead of the weekend's action.
Marquez, who has not won at Assen in seven years, arrived at the Cathedral of Speed with a 40-point lead but as he put the Ducati through its paces, he struggled on the sweeping turns when the medium compound tyre failed to grip in cool conditions.
The first crash saw Marquez go down in a highside crash and as he ended up in the gravel, he quickly took off his left glove in apparent pain.
He said: "I was a bit scared. I hit my nerve (in the elbow) and my hand was sleeping. For that reason I took off my glove super quick, to understand what's going on ... I was able to move but the feeling was zero."
On the second crash, Marquez lost his balance on a turn and slid into the gravel again, this time stomach down as the bike tumbled away from him.
The 32-year-old initially stood up but appeared winded and quickly sat on his haunches holding his groin before he was helped off the track by marshals.
"It's not an easy day for my body but apart from that I'm lucky because nothing important - some things, yes - but it's not something that will be a problem for the next two days. Tomorrow I will check when I get up," Marquez said with a smile.
Marquez also sported a small cut on his chin after his slide across the gravel and the Ducati rider said the size of the stones did not help as he also hurt his stomach.
"The rocks are super big and then when you arrive there with that high speed, it hits your body," he added.
"I had a problem and then I (could not) breathe there on the gravel because I was sliding on the gravel face down."
Marquez was taken to the medical centre for a check-up after the second crash and was declared fit to race this weekend.
He eventually advanced to the Q2 qualifying session but he was not the only rider to crash on Friday, with his brother Alex of Gresini Racing, who is second in the championship, also going down.
There were as many as nine crashes and two red flags coming out when Trackhouse Racing's Ai Ogura suffered a crash as his bike landed in a fiery heap while Aprilia's Lorenzo Savadori also went down due to a nasty highside.
Yamaha's Fabio Quartararo topped the practice session timesheet ahead of Alex Marquez, KTM's Pedro Acosta and Aprilia's Marco Bezzecchi as four different manufacturers made the top five rounded out by Ducati's Francesco Bagnaia.
Australia's Jack Miller was down the list in 16th on his Pramac Yamaha, 0.836 seconds behind the leader.
Ducati's MotoGP championship leader Marc Marquez has crashed twice on a painful day of practice at the Dutch Grand Prix in Assen.
The Spaniard said he was lucky to walk away with no major injuries ahead of the weekend's action.
Marquez, who has not won at Assen in seven years, arrived at the Cathedral of Speed with a 40-point lead but as he put the Ducati through its paces, he struggled on the sweeping turns when the medium compound tyre failed to grip in cool conditions.
The first crash saw Marquez go down in a highside crash and as he ended up in the gravel, he quickly took off his left glove in apparent pain.
He said: "I was a bit scared. I hit my nerve (in the elbow) and my hand was sleeping. For that reason I took off my glove super quick, to understand what's going on ... I was able to move but the feeling was zero."
On the second crash, Marquez lost his balance on a turn and slid into the gravel again, this time stomach down as the bike tumbled away from him.
The 32-year-old initially stood up but appeared winded and quickly sat on his haunches holding his groin before he was helped off the track by marshals.
"It's not an easy day for my body but apart from that I'm lucky because nothing important - some things, yes - but it's not something that will be a problem for the next two days. Tomorrow I will check when I get up," Marquez said with a smile.
Marquez also sported a small cut on his chin after his slide across the gravel and the Ducati rider said the size of the stones did not help as he also hurt his stomach.
"The rocks are super big and then when you arrive there with that high speed, it hits your body," he added.
"I had a problem and then I (could not) breathe there on the gravel because I was sliding on the gravel face down."
Marquez was taken to the medical centre for a check-up after the second crash and was declared fit to race this weekend.
He eventually advanced to the Q2 qualifying session but he was not the only rider to crash on Friday, with his brother Alex of Gresini Racing, who is second in the championship, also going down.
There were as many as nine crashes and two red flags coming out when Trackhouse Racing's Ai Ogura suffered a crash as his bike landed in a fiery heap while Aprilia's Lorenzo Savadori also went down due to a nasty highside.
Yamaha's Fabio Quartararo topped the practice session timesheet ahead of Alex Marquez, KTM's Pedro Acosta and Aprilia's Marco Bezzecchi as four different manufacturers made the top five rounded out by Ducati's Francesco Bagnaia.
Australia's Jack Miller was down the list in 16th on his Pramac Yamaha, 0.836 seconds behind the leader.
Ducati's MotoGP championship leader Marc Marquez has crashed twice on a painful day of practice at the Dutch Grand Prix in Assen.
The Spaniard said he was lucky to walk away with no major injuries ahead of the weekend's action.
Marquez, who has not won at Assen in seven years, arrived at the Cathedral of Speed with a 40-point lead but as he put the Ducati through its paces, he struggled on the sweeping turns when the medium compound tyre failed to grip in cool conditions.
The first crash saw Marquez go down in a highside crash and as he ended up in the gravel, he quickly took off his left glove in apparent pain.
He said: "I was a bit scared. I hit my nerve (in the elbow) and my hand was sleeping. For that reason I took off my glove super quick, to understand what's going on ... I was able to move but the feeling was zero."
On the second crash, Marquez lost his balance on a turn and slid into the gravel again, this time stomach down as the bike tumbled away from him.
The 32-year-old initially stood up but appeared winded and quickly sat on his haunches holding his groin before he was helped off the track by marshals.
"It's not an easy day for my body but apart from that I'm lucky because nothing important - some things, yes - but it's not something that will be a problem for the next two days. Tomorrow I will check when I get up," Marquez said with a smile.
Marquez also sported a small cut on his chin after his slide across the gravel and the Ducati rider said the size of the stones did not help as he also hurt his stomach.
"The rocks are super big and then when you arrive there with that high speed, it hits your body," he added.
"I had a problem and then I (could not) breathe there on the gravel because I was sliding on the gravel face down."
Marquez was taken to the medical centre for a check-up after the second crash and was declared fit to race this weekend.
He eventually advanced to the Q2 qualifying session but he was not the only rider to crash on Friday, with his brother Alex of Gresini Racing, who is second in the championship, also going down.
There were as many as nine crashes and two red flags coming out when Trackhouse Racing's Ai Ogura suffered a crash as his bike landed in a fiery heap while Aprilia's Lorenzo Savadori also went down due to a nasty highside.
Yamaha's Fabio Quartararo topped the practice session timesheet ahead of Alex Marquez, KTM's Pedro Acosta and Aprilia's Marco Bezzecchi as four different manufacturers made the top five rounded out by Ducati's Francesco Bagnaia.
Australia's Jack Miller was down the list in 16th on his Pramac Yamaha, 0.836 seconds behind the leader.
Ducati's MotoGP championship leader Marc Marquez has crashed twice on a painful day of practice at the Dutch Grand Prix in Assen.
The Spaniard said he was lucky to walk away with no major injuries ahead of the weekend's action.
Marquez, who has not won at Assen in seven years, arrived at the Cathedral of Speed with a 40-point lead but as he put the Ducati through its paces, he struggled on the sweeping turns when the medium compound tyre failed to grip in cool conditions.
The first crash saw Marquez go down in a highside crash and as he ended up in the gravel, he quickly took off his left glove in apparent pain.
He said: "I was a bit scared. I hit my nerve (in the elbow) and my hand was sleeping. For that reason I took off my glove super quick, to understand what's going on ... I was able to move but the feeling was zero."
On the second crash, Marquez lost his balance on a turn and slid into the gravel again, this time stomach down as the bike tumbled away from him.
The 32-year-old initially stood up but appeared winded and quickly sat on his haunches holding his groin before he was helped off the track by marshals.
"It's not an easy day for my body but apart from that I'm lucky because nothing important - some things, yes - but it's not something that will be a problem for the next two days. Tomorrow I will check when I get up," Marquez said with a smile.
Marquez also sported a small cut on his chin after his slide across the gravel and the Ducati rider said the size of the stones did not help as he also hurt his stomach.
"The rocks are super big and then when you arrive there with that high speed, it hits your body," he added.
"I had a problem and then I (could not) breathe there on the gravel because I was sliding on the gravel face down."
Marquez was taken to the medical centre for a check-up after the second crash and was declared fit to race this weekend.
He eventually advanced to the Q2 qualifying session but he was not the only rider to crash on Friday, with his brother Alex of Gresini Racing, who is second in the championship, also going down.
There were as many as nine crashes and two red flags coming out when Trackhouse Racing's Ai Ogura suffered a crash as his bike landed in a fiery heap while Aprilia's Lorenzo Savadori also went down due to a nasty highside.
Yamaha's Fabio Quartararo topped the practice session timesheet ahead of Alex Marquez, KTM's Pedro Acosta and Aprilia's Marco Bezzecchi as four different manufacturers made the top five rounded out by Ducati's Francesco Bagnaia.
Australia's Jack Miller was down the list in 16th on his Pramac Yamaha, 0.836 seconds behind the leader.
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The Advertiser
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- The Advertiser
Marquez bags ninth sprint victory of season at Dutch GP
Ducati's Marc Marquez has brushed aside two practice crashes to storm to his ninth sprint victory of the season at the Dutch Grand Prix to extend his MotoGP championship lead despite starting fourth on the grid at Assen. Marquez finished ahead of his brother, Alex, of Gresini Racing and Aprilia's Marco Bezzecchi claimed third place for his first sprint podium since 2023 . But pole sitter Fabio Quartararo of Yamaha crashed with four laps to go on Saturday. Marc extends his lead in the championship to 43 points over Alex going into Sunday's race while Ducati's Francesco Bagnaia, third in the championship, could only manage fifth place behind VR46 Racing's Fabio Di Giannantonio. The victory will give Marc a significant psychological boost after he crashed twice in Friday's practice, as he seeks a first race win at 'The Cathedral of Speed' since 2018. "Today we breathe a lot ... because my body cannot accept another big crash like yesterday. Today I was just calm, trying to control the situations," Marc said. Quartararo had claimed his fourth pole position of the season in qualifying earlier on Saturday and the Frenchman led the pack into turn one when the lights went out. However, he had to elbow Marc out of the way into turn one after the Spaniard had a blistering start off the line, with the Ducati rider leaning so close to him that his right shoulder briefly touched Quartararo's boot. Although he led for most of lap one, Quartararo could not match the pace of the Ducati bikes as Marc eventually took the lead in the final chicane, before Alex and Bezzecchi also overtook the Frenchman. Bagnaia, meanwhile, had qualified second-fastest but he found himself going backwards when fellow Italian Di Giannantonio overtook him and moved up to fifth at the halfway mark of the sprint. Marc nearly surrendered first place when he made a rare mistake and went wide, giving Alex an opportunity to pass him, but the elder Marquez brother quickly slammed the door shut to retain the lead. Quartararo was on the limit as he pushed hard to stay with the lead group and the Yamaha rider's sprint came to an end with four laps to go when he lost his balance at turn 10 and crashed. Meanwhile Australia's Jack Miller was 14th aboard the Pramac Yamaha. Ducati's Marc Marquez has brushed aside two practice crashes to storm to his ninth sprint victory of the season at the Dutch Grand Prix to extend his MotoGP championship lead despite starting fourth on the grid at Assen. Marquez finished ahead of his brother, Alex, of Gresini Racing and Aprilia's Marco Bezzecchi claimed third place for his first sprint podium since 2023 . But pole sitter Fabio Quartararo of Yamaha crashed with four laps to go on Saturday. Marc extends his lead in the championship to 43 points over Alex going into Sunday's race while Ducati's Francesco Bagnaia, third in the championship, could only manage fifth place behind VR46 Racing's Fabio Di Giannantonio. The victory will give Marc a significant psychological boost after he crashed twice in Friday's practice, as he seeks a first race win at 'The Cathedral of Speed' since 2018. "Today we breathe a lot ... because my body cannot accept another big crash like yesterday. Today I was just calm, trying to control the situations," Marc said. Quartararo had claimed his fourth pole position of the season in qualifying earlier on Saturday and the Frenchman led the pack into turn one when the lights went out. However, he had to elbow Marc out of the way into turn one after the Spaniard had a blistering start off the line, with the Ducati rider leaning so close to him that his right shoulder briefly touched Quartararo's boot. Although he led for most of lap one, Quartararo could not match the pace of the Ducati bikes as Marc eventually took the lead in the final chicane, before Alex and Bezzecchi also overtook the Frenchman. Bagnaia, meanwhile, had qualified second-fastest but he found himself going backwards when fellow Italian Di Giannantonio overtook him and moved up to fifth at the halfway mark of the sprint. Marc nearly surrendered first place when he made a rare mistake and went wide, giving Alex an opportunity to pass him, but the elder Marquez brother quickly slammed the door shut to retain the lead. Quartararo was on the limit as he pushed hard to stay with the lead group and the Yamaha rider's sprint came to an end with four laps to go when he lost his balance at turn 10 and crashed. Meanwhile Australia's Jack Miller was 14th aboard the Pramac Yamaha. Ducati's Marc Marquez has brushed aside two practice crashes to storm to his ninth sprint victory of the season at the Dutch Grand Prix to extend his MotoGP championship lead despite starting fourth on the grid at Assen. Marquez finished ahead of his brother, Alex, of Gresini Racing and Aprilia's Marco Bezzecchi claimed third place for his first sprint podium since 2023 . But pole sitter Fabio Quartararo of Yamaha crashed with four laps to go on Saturday. Marc extends his lead in the championship to 43 points over Alex going into Sunday's race while Ducati's Francesco Bagnaia, third in the championship, could only manage fifth place behind VR46 Racing's Fabio Di Giannantonio. The victory will give Marc a significant psychological boost after he crashed twice in Friday's practice, as he seeks a first race win at 'The Cathedral of Speed' since 2018. "Today we breathe a lot ... because my body cannot accept another big crash like yesterday. Today I was just calm, trying to control the situations," Marc said. Quartararo had claimed his fourth pole position of the season in qualifying earlier on Saturday and the Frenchman led the pack into turn one when the lights went out. However, he had to elbow Marc out of the way into turn one after the Spaniard had a blistering start off the line, with the Ducati rider leaning so close to him that his right shoulder briefly touched Quartararo's boot. Although he led for most of lap one, Quartararo could not match the pace of the Ducati bikes as Marc eventually took the lead in the final chicane, before Alex and Bezzecchi also overtook the Frenchman. Bagnaia, meanwhile, had qualified second-fastest but he found himself going backwards when fellow Italian Di Giannantonio overtook him and moved up to fifth at the halfway mark of the sprint. Marc nearly surrendered first place when he made a rare mistake and went wide, giving Alex an opportunity to pass him, but the elder Marquez brother quickly slammed the door shut to retain the lead. Quartararo was on the limit as he pushed hard to stay with the lead group and the Yamaha rider's sprint came to an end with four laps to go when he lost his balance at turn 10 and crashed. Meanwhile Australia's Jack Miller was 14th aboard the Pramac Yamaha. Ducati's Marc Marquez has brushed aside two practice crashes to storm to his ninth sprint victory of the season at the Dutch Grand Prix to extend his MotoGP championship lead despite starting fourth on the grid at Assen. Marquez finished ahead of his brother, Alex, of Gresini Racing and Aprilia's Marco Bezzecchi claimed third place for his first sprint podium since 2023 . But pole sitter Fabio Quartararo of Yamaha crashed with four laps to go on Saturday. Marc extends his lead in the championship to 43 points over Alex going into Sunday's race while Ducati's Francesco Bagnaia, third in the championship, could only manage fifth place behind VR46 Racing's Fabio Di Giannantonio. The victory will give Marc a significant psychological boost after he crashed twice in Friday's practice, as he seeks a first race win at 'The Cathedral of Speed' since 2018. "Today we breathe a lot ... because my body cannot accept another big crash like yesterday. Today I was just calm, trying to control the situations," Marc said. Quartararo had claimed his fourth pole position of the season in qualifying earlier on Saturday and the Frenchman led the pack into turn one when the lights went out. However, he had to elbow Marc out of the way into turn one after the Spaniard had a blistering start off the line, with the Ducati rider leaning so close to him that his right shoulder briefly touched Quartararo's boot. Although he led for most of lap one, Quartararo could not match the pace of the Ducati bikes as Marc eventually took the lead in the final chicane, before Alex and Bezzecchi also overtook the Frenchman. Bagnaia, meanwhile, had qualified second-fastest but he found himself going backwards when fellow Italian Di Giannantonio overtook him and moved up to fifth at the halfway mark of the sprint. Marc nearly surrendered first place when he made a rare mistake and went wide, giving Alex an opportunity to pass him, but the elder Marquez brother quickly slammed the door shut to retain the lead. Quartararo was on the limit as he pushed hard to stay with the lead group and the Yamaha rider's sprint came to an end with four laps to go when he lost his balance at turn 10 and crashed. Meanwhile Australia's Jack Miller was 14th aboard the Pramac Yamaha.
The Advertiser
a day ago
- The Advertiser
Leader Marquez crashes twice in Dutch GP practice
Ducati's MotoGP championship leader Marc Marquez has crashed twice on a painful day of practice at the Dutch Grand Prix in Assen. The Spaniard said he was lucky to walk away with no major injuries ahead of the weekend's action. Marquez, who has not won at Assen in seven years, arrived at the Cathedral of Speed with a 40-point lead but as he put the Ducati through its paces, he struggled on the sweeping turns when the medium compound tyre failed to grip in cool conditions. The first crash saw Marquez go down in a highside crash and as he ended up in the gravel, he quickly took off his left glove in apparent pain. He said: "I was a bit scared. I hit my nerve (in the elbow) and my hand was sleeping. For that reason I took off my glove super quick, to understand what's going on ... I was able to move but the feeling was zero." On the second crash, Marquez lost his balance on a turn and slid into the gravel again, this time stomach down as the bike tumbled away from him. The 32-year-old initially stood up but appeared winded and quickly sat on his haunches holding his groin before he was helped off the track by marshals. "It's not an easy day for my body but apart from that I'm lucky because nothing important - some things, yes - but it's not something that will be a problem for the next two days. Tomorrow I will check when I get up," Marquez said with a smile. Marquez also sported a small cut on his chin after his slide across the gravel and the Ducati rider said the size of the stones did not help as he also hurt his stomach. "The rocks are super big and then when you arrive there with that high speed, it hits your body," he added. "I had a problem and then I (could not) breathe there on the gravel because I was sliding on the gravel face down." Marquez was taken to the medical centre for a check-up after the second crash and was declared fit to race this weekend. He eventually advanced to the Q2 qualifying session but he was not the only rider to crash on Friday, with his brother Alex of Gresini Racing, who is second in the championship, also going down. There were as many as nine crashes and two red flags coming out when Trackhouse Racing's Ai Ogura suffered a crash as his bike landed in a fiery heap while Aprilia's Lorenzo Savadori also went down due to a nasty highside. Yamaha's Fabio Quartararo topped the practice session timesheet ahead of Alex Marquez, KTM's Pedro Acosta and Aprilia's Marco Bezzecchi as four different manufacturers made the top five rounded out by Ducati's Francesco Bagnaia. Australia's Jack Miller was down the list in 16th on his Pramac Yamaha, 0.836 seconds behind the leader. Ducati's MotoGP championship leader Marc Marquez has crashed twice on a painful day of practice at the Dutch Grand Prix in Assen. The Spaniard said he was lucky to walk away with no major injuries ahead of the weekend's action. Marquez, who has not won at Assen in seven years, arrived at the Cathedral of Speed with a 40-point lead but as he put the Ducati through its paces, he struggled on the sweeping turns when the medium compound tyre failed to grip in cool conditions. The first crash saw Marquez go down in a highside crash and as he ended up in the gravel, he quickly took off his left glove in apparent pain. He said: "I was a bit scared. I hit my nerve (in the elbow) and my hand was sleeping. For that reason I took off my glove super quick, to understand what's going on ... I was able to move but the feeling was zero." On the second crash, Marquez lost his balance on a turn and slid into the gravel again, this time stomach down as the bike tumbled away from him. The 32-year-old initially stood up but appeared winded and quickly sat on his haunches holding his groin before he was helped off the track by marshals. "It's not an easy day for my body but apart from that I'm lucky because nothing important - some things, yes - but it's not something that will be a problem for the next two days. Tomorrow I will check when I get up," Marquez said with a smile. Marquez also sported a small cut on his chin after his slide across the gravel and the Ducati rider said the size of the stones did not help as he also hurt his stomach. "The rocks are super big and then when you arrive there with that high speed, it hits your body," he added. "I had a problem and then I (could not) breathe there on the gravel because I was sliding on the gravel face down." Marquez was taken to the medical centre for a check-up after the second crash and was declared fit to race this weekend. He eventually advanced to the Q2 qualifying session but he was not the only rider to crash on Friday, with his brother Alex of Gresini Racing, who is second in the championship, also going down. There were as many as nine crashes and two red flags coming out when Trackhouse Racing's Ai Ogura suffered a crash as his bike landed in a fiery heap while Aprilia's Lorenzo Savadori also went down due to a nasty highside. Yamaha's Fabio Quartararo topped the practice session timesheet ahead of Alex Marquez, KTM's Pedro Acosta and Aprilia's Marco Bezzecchi as four different manufacturers made the top five rounded out by Ducati's Francesco Bagnaia. Australia's Jack Miller was down the list in 16th on his Pramac Yamaha, 0.836 seconds behind the leader. Ducati's MotoGP championship leader Marc Marquez has crashed twice on a painful day of practice at the Dutch Grand Prix in Assen. The Spaniard said he was lucky to walk away with no major injuries ahead of the weekend's action. Marquez, who has not won at Assen in seven years, arrived at the Cathedral of Speed with a 40-point lead but as he put the Ducati through its paces, he struggled on the sweeping turns when the medium compound tyre failed to grip in cool conditions. The first crash saw Marquez go down in a highside crash and as he ended up in the gravel, he quickly took off his left glove in apparent pain. He said: "I was a bit scared. I hit my nerve (in the elbow) and my hand was sleeping. For that reason I took off my glove super quick, to understand what's going on ... I was able to move but the feeling was zero." On the second crash, Marquez lost his balance on a turn and slid into the gravel again, this time stomach down as the bike tumbled away from him. The 32-year-old initially stood up but appeared winded and quickly sat on his haunches holding his groin before he was helped off the track by marshals. "It's not an easy day for my body but apart from that I'm lucky because nothing important - some things, yes - but it's not something that will be a problem for the next two days. Tomorrow I will check when I get up," Marquez said with a smile. Marquez also sported a small cut on his chin after his slide across the gravel and the Ducati rider said the size of the stones did not help as he also hurt his stomach. "The rocks are super big and then when you arrive there with that high speed, it hits your body," he added. "I had a problem and then I (could not) breathe there on the gravel because I was sliding on the gravel face down." Marquez was taken to the medical centre for a check-up after the second crash and was declared fit to race this weekend. He eventually advanced to the Q2 qualifying session but he was not the only rider to crash on Friday, with his brother Alex of Gresini Racing, who is second in the championship, also going down. There were as many as nine crashes and two red flags coming out when Trackhouse Racing's Ai Ogura suffered a crash as his bike landed in a fiery heap while Aprilia's Lorenzo Savadori also went down due to a nasty highside. Yamaha's Fabio Quartararo topped the practice session timesheet ahead of Alex Marquez, KTM's Pedro Acosta and Aprilia's Marco Bezzecchi as four different manufacturers made the top five rounded out by Ducati's Francesco Bagnaia. Australia's Jack Miller was down the list in 16th on his Pramac Yamaha, 0.836 seconds behind the leader. Ducati's MotoGP championship leader Marc Marquez has crashed twice on a painful day of practice at the Dutch Grand Prix in Assen. The Spaniard said he was lucky to walk away with no major injuries ahead of the weekend's action. Marquez, who has not won at Assen in seven years, arrived at the Cathedral of Speed with a 40-point lead but as he put the Ducati through its paces, he struggled on the sweeping turns when the medium compound tyre failed to grip in cool conditions. The first crash saw Marquez go down in a highside crash and as he ended up in the gravel, he quickly took off his left glove in apparent pain. He said: "I was a bit scared. I hit my nerve (in the elbow) and my hand was sleeping. For that reason I took off my glove super quick, to understand what's going on ... I was able to move but the feeling was zero." On the second crash, Marquez lost his balance on a turn and slid into the gravel again, this time stomach down as the bike tumbled away from him. The 32-year-old initially stood up but appeared winded and quickly sat on his haunches holding his groin before he was helped off the track by marshals. "It's not an easy day for my body but apart from that I'm lucky because nothing important - some things, yes - but it's not something that will be a problem for the next two days. Tomorrow I will check when I get up," Marquez said with a smile. Marquez also sported a small cut on his chin after his slide across the gravel and the Ducati rider said the size of the stones did not help as he also hurt his stomach. "The rocks are super big and then when you arrive there with that high speed, it hits your body," he added. "I had a problem and then I (could not) breathe there on the gravel because I was sliding on the gravel face down." Marquez was taken to the medical centre for a check-up after the second crash and was declared fit to race this weekend. He eventually advanced to the Q2 qualifying session but he was not the only rider to crash on Friday, with his brother Alex of Gresini Racing, who is second in the championship, also going down. There were as many as nine crashes and two red flags coming out when Trackhouse Racing's Ai Ogura suffered a crash as his bike landed in a fiery heap while Aprilia's Lorenzo Savadori also went down due to a nasty highside. Yamaha's Fabio Quartararo topped the practice session timesheet ahead of Alex Marquez, KTM's Pedro Acosta and Aprilia's Marco Bezzecchi as four different manufacturers made the top five rounded out by Ducati's Francesco Bagnaia. Australia's Jack Miller was down the list in 16th on his Pramac Yamaha, 0.836 seconds behind the leader.
West Australian
4 days ago
- West Australian
2025 NBA Draft: Perth Wildcats forward Izan Almansa and top Australian hopes look to hear names get called out
Outgoing Perth Wildcats forward Izan Almansa is among a handful of NBL graduates looking to continue Australia's strong recent record as an NBA breeding ground when Thursday's (WA time) draft gets underway. Since 2020, nine players have been snapped up in the NBA Draft having plied their craft in Australia in the preceding months, including former Wildcats duo Luke Travers (2022) and Alex Sarr (2024). Almansa is considered a chance to join that group, with the 208cm Spaniard projected by analysts as either a late pick in Friday's second round or to go undrafted. The 20-year-old showed plenty of signs of his considerable talent for Perth, averaging 7.2 points and four rebounds per game in a largely reserve role. But it is not known whether the one-month ban he served for testing positive to cannabis – revealed last week – will impact his draft hopes. While Wildcats teammate Ben Henshall and fellow WA product Alex Condon have both withdrawn their names from the draft pool over the past few weeks, four other Aussies have high hopes of having their names called out. Sydney Kings forward Alex Toohey is in contention to be Australia's top pick somewhere in the second round, with 200cm Brisbane giant Rocco Zikarsky and Illawarra's championship-winning centre Lachlan Olbrich also in the mix. Tyrese Proctor, a Sydney-raised point guard who has been playing at US college powerhouse Duke, is a fellow second-round hopeful. Speaking before his likely elevation to the world's top competition, Toohey said he had learnt plenty from going professional in Australia rather than plying his trade in college, and wasn't worried about the notion of trying to emerge from outside the spotlight of the US. 'Everyone coming from Australia… (Chicago Bulls star) Josh Giddey epitomises that. Everyone's kind of not sure if he's quick enough, if he's athletic enough – that scouting report with all this negative stuff,' Toohey said. 'And then he goes out and has the youngest triple-double of all time. 'As long as you have IQ, you'll make it in any league in the world.' Duke's Cooper Flagg will be taken by Dallas with the top pick, with the American forward considered one of the most promising recent prospects of recent times. First round 8am (WA time) Thursday, second round 8am (WA time) Friday LIKELY TOP-FIVE SELECTIONS The consensus top pick for some time, the Duke forward is considered one of the biggest 'sure thing' future stars of this century. The savvy guard is the son of Ron Harper, Michael Jordan's former backcourt teammate at the Chicago Bulls in the late '90s. The 76ers jumped up in the draft and will likely snap up the athletic shooting guard out of Baylor. The sharpshooter should join his Duke college teammate in Flagg inside the top handful of picks. The Jazz need a point guard to lead their new era and could turn to one of the youngest and smallest (189cm) players in the draft.
