Motorcycling-Marquez crashes twice in bruising day of practice at Dutch Grand Prix
FILE PHOTO: MotoGP - Italian Grand Prix - Mugello Circuit, Scarperia e San Piero, Italy - June 22, 2025, Ducati Lenovo Team's Marc Marquez celebrates after winning the Italian Grand Prix REUTERS/Jennifer Lorenzini/File Photo
(Reuters) -Ducati's MotoGP championship leader Marc Marquez crashed twice on a painful day of practice at the Dutch Grand Prix in Assen on Friday, with the Spaniard saying 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, arrives 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 front 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.
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 marshalls.
"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.
"The first one (crash) was a bit strange because I was not really pushing but it felt super slippery. The second one was a consequence, it was a time attack but I did the time attack with the front tyre that I crashed this morning."
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 was breathing (hard) there on the gravel because I was sliding on the gravel face down."
Marquez 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 -- 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.
(Reporting by Rohith Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Toby Davis)
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New Straits Times
4 hours ago
- New Straits Times
Marquez crashes twice in bruising day of practice at Dutch Grand Prix
DUCATI's MotoGP championship leader Marc Marquez crashed twice on a painful day of practice at the Dutch Grand Prix in Assen on Friday, with the Spaniard saying 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, arrives 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. "I was a bit scared. I hit my nerve (in the elbow) and my hand was sleeping," Marquez told reporters. "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. "The first one (crash) was a bit strange because I was not really pushing but it felt super slippery. The second one was a consequence, it was a time attack but I did the time attack with the front tyre that I crashed this morning." GRAVEL SIZE 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 – 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. "I'd say that was the most expensive MotoGP session ever," said Gresini crew chief Frankie Carchedi. 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. — REUTERS
The Star
11 hours ago
- The Star
Motorcycling-Marquez crashes twice in bruising day of practice at Dutch Grand Prix
FILE PHOTO: MotoGP - Italian Grand Prix - Mugello Circuit, Scarperia e San Piero, Italy - June 22, 2025, Ducati Lenovo Team's Marc Marquez celebrates after winning the Italian Grand Prix REUTERS/Jennifer Lorenzini/File Photo (Reuters) -Ducati's MotoGP championship leader Marc Marquez crashed twice on a painful day of practice at the Dutch Grand Prix in Assen on Friday, with the Spaniard saying 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, arrives 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 front 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. 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 marshalls. "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. "The first one (crash) was a bit strange because I was not really pushing but it felt super slippery. The second one was a consequence, it was a time attack but I did the time attack with the front tyre that I crashed this morning." 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 was breathing (hard) there on the gravel because I was sliding on the gravel face down." Marquez 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 -- 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. (Reporting by Rohith Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Toby Davis)
The Sun
16 hours ago
- The Sun
Marc Marquez eyes 68th win at Dutch MotoGP in Assen
RUNAWAY championship leader Marc Marquez can draw level with motorcycling legend Giacomo Agostini's 68 elite wins at the Dutch MotoGP this weekend. That will leave the rejuvenated six-time MotoGP champion 21 grands prix wins shy of all-time record-holder Valentino Rossi. The way the Spaniard has been riding since joining the Ducati factory time this term, catching his retired arch rival's tally is by no means beyond the bounds of possibility. Marquez arrives at Assen's 'Cathedral of speed' circuit fresh from his exploits at Mugello, where he claimed the sprint and the race from pole for the fifth weekend this year. His fifth win from nine grands prix lifted him 40 points clear of his younger sibling Alex, riding for Ducati's satellite Gresini team. Alex Marquez has finished second to Marc in eight of the nine sprints, and four times in the main event, leading some conspiracy theorists to speculate over a form of collusion and sharing of strategies between the siblings. Alex though was quick to knock that notion on the head ahead of this 10th round of the championship. "I think, from outside, some people are trying to create a war or a battle between me and Marc," Alex told "It's what the people want to push, to see some competition. We have that already - we are brothers. "So, we've fought all of our lives. You want to beat your brother and you want to be in front and you want to be better in life than your brother. "But it will not change. At the moment, he is faster than us. For that reason, many times people say 'Alex doesn't attack him'. "I don't attack him because I don't arrive (in a position to take him on)." Bagnaia aims for Assen four-timer The Marquez brothers have left former two-time champion Francesco Bagnaia toiling in their wake this season. The occupant of the other half of the Ducati factory garage is a yawning 110 points off the lead. But 'Pecco' has form at Assen, winning the last three Dutch grands prix, and looked back to his best, hustling for the lead early on in Mugello last Sunday before settling for third. Bagnaia is having similar problems with his bike as McLaren Formula One title contender Lando Norris has been complaining of with his car this season as he battles his teammate Oscar Piastri for the F1 drivers' crown. "I was quite confident in the first part of the race, I was feeling good, and then after six laps, the front started to drop. "I had to slow down because I was risking a crash. The problem is that this season is always like this. I cannot do what I want on the bike," he said after Mugello. "It's a shame, it is what it is. From the first race, it's like this," he continued. "Maybe I start well, then I spend the race watching the brothers, what they are doing, hoping for a mistake from them to maybe have a chance to overtake. But like this, it's not possible."
