Marc Marquez is close to Marco Bezzecchi, but takes a dig at Valentino Rossi
Marco Bezzecchi broke his collarbone on Saturday at the Sachsenring following a spectacular crash during qualifying. This obviously forced him to miss not only the Sprint Race scheduled a few hours later, but also Sunday’s German Grand Prix. Another unfortunate incident in a terrible month for the Aprilia rider from Romagna, who received words of support from Marc Marquez. At the same time, however, Marquez couldn’t resist taking a not-so-subtle dig at his longtime rival, Valentino Rossi.
“All MotoGP riders always take big risks,” Marquez observed after securing pole position and winning the Sprint Race. We all wish Bezzecchi the best, because I already said in Indonesia that it’s not fair to put pressure on him. These things happen when you race, and we have to deal with them. Because many of us have gotten hurt after ending up in the gravel. I hope Marco recovers as soon as possible, and I’ll tell you that karma doesn’t exist. I’ve been hearing references to this word since 2015, and since then I’ve won five world championships. So, if it really did exist, then all the better.”
The dynamics of the crash were particularly spectacular and concerning. A little over ten minutes before the end of Q2, Bezzecchi lost control of his Aprilia in Turn 7 at a speed of 160 kilometers per hour, ending up in the gravel and rolling several times before coming to a stop, after being thrown from the bike. The rider from Rimini got back on his feet shortly afterward and was escorted by a marshal on a scooter to the pit area, but he did not return to his bike, watching the rest of qualifying from the pits and thus settling for seventh place overall. After qualifying, he went to the medical center for an examination, complaining of persistent pain on the left side of his body: the results of the initial tests confirmed the fears, with a diagnosis of a comminuted clavicle fracture requiring surgery.
The crash at the Sachsenring comes just two weeks after another major scare at Assen, where Bezzecchi lost control of his bike on the third lap of the race, going off the track at nearly 200 all’ora in Turn 15. On that occasion, the rider remained conscious, and subsequent thorough examinations at the University Hospital of Groningen revealed no fractures or other physical injuries, allowing him to breathe a sigh of relief. This time, unfortunately, things turned out differently.
Bezzecchi’s current slump stands in stark contrast to his brilliant start to the season, during which he opened the championship with three consecutive Grand Prix wins, later adding a victory at Mugello. The last few race weekends, however, have yielded just 13 points in the standings, thanks to a third-place finish in the Sprint race in Hungary and a fourth-place finish in the Sprint race at Assen. He retired from both Grand Prix races, while in the Czech Republic, after a crash in the Sprint, he was also disqualified from the Grand Prix due to an altercation with a track marshal. Meanwhile, the world championship standings are looking good for his teammate Jorge Martin, who, with his third-place finish at Assen, overtook Bezzecchi to take the lead.
On the other hand, Marquez made the most of the German weekend to consolidate his position in the championship. At the Sachsenring circuit—historically the most favorable track for the eight-time world champion—the Catalan rider on the factory Ducati dominated from pole position to victory in the Sprint Race, finishing ahead of his brother Alex Marquez (Ducati Gresini) and Fabio Di Giannantonio (Ducati VR46). It was a mixed day, however, for the other title contenders: Jorge Martin finished only sixth on the factory Aprilia, while Francesco Bagnaia struggled once again, finishing seventh and well off the pace of the leaders, after having to go through Q1 in qualifying.
