As speculated Sunday in Grandstand, Aprilia factory rider Alvaro Bautista confirmed that defending world champion Marc Marquez collided with him in turn 6 of the first lap, damaging his bike so severely that he was forced to retire.
Discussing his race retirement, Bautista claimed that as he negotiated the corner full of competitors, Marquez barreled into him. “Marquez got off to a bad start and he wanted to make up positions quickly, but without considering the fact that there were other riders on the track,” Bautista said.
“He has been too aggressive in the past in these types of situations.”
Watching the race live on MotoGP.com, Grandstand witnessed the incident, and footage of Bautista’s stricken Aprilia limping along the last few turns before entering the pit lane revealed what looked like long cables and a brake line dangling from the left side, the same side Marquez passed beside.
“Today I was lucky because I didn’t crash, but it doesn’t take much to get hurt out there”
Qatar was the first MotoGP race for Aprilia since 2004, when the brand left the top category. Aprilia is however, one of the most successful brands in motorcycle road racing with 23 road racing world championships in the 125cc, 250cc and World Superbike classes, and at least as many again in national championships.
[…] In the television footage, replayed endlessly and from many angles, Rossi can be seen looking over his shoulder twice, making long eye contact with Marquez, indicating that he clearly knew where the Honda man was on the track. Of course, Marquez could have braked, slowing down enough to tuck behind Rossi to resume the fight for the next corner, but history shows that Marquez does not ever back down even if it means crashing. […]
it is too bad for B-man, but just result of aggressive riding in traffic, close quarters, bump and grind, no intent….should not be any action taken against Marquez in my view
Suck it up Princess – rubbin’s racin’ (just kidding) !
yes yes, your bike was broke but here’s the thing, Marquez is our golden boy AND Spanish so uh nothing is going to happen.
Uh, Bautista is also Spanish.
There’s no question that Marquez was responsible for the incident. After viewing replays of the incident, debris clearly falls from the bike and cabling begins to drag immediately after contact.
Definitely a racing incident, but unfortunate for Bautista. Who, by the by, has earned the “Bowling Ball” nickname for his share of such happenings over the years. 🙂