2 world champions crash

Ducati double crash: Marquez blames Bagnaia

Marc Marquez and Francesco Bagnaia came too close to each other in Portimao.

(Bild: X.com/MotoGP)

A maneuver at the Portuguese Grand Prix ended the battle for world championship points in the gravel for two MotoGP superstars. After Marc Marquez and Francesco Bagnaia knocked each other out of the race in Portimao, the action was deemed a racing accident by the race organizers. The Spaniard sees it differently ...

A few laps before the end of the race, Bagnaia and Marquez had fought a tough battle for P5, with Marquez passing the reigning world champion on the inside in the left-hand corner, but went wide, giving Pecco the space he needed to strike back on the inside. This resulted in contact between the two, with both the factory and Gresini Ducati leaving the tarmac. Although the riders were able to restart their bikes and steer them back onto the track, no points were scored.

"He tried to overtake me and went wide. I tried to close the line, but he crossed the line and we collided. That annoys me, but it was a racing accident," said Bagnaia, describing his view of the situation after the race.

"Pecco's mistake"
Marquez, for his part, explained to the journalists on site: "You have to decide where the limit is. From my point of view it was a mistake by Pecco. But not just the incident, because he wanted to come back." Especially as the duel was only about two points more or less. "You know that you will lose your position three or four laps before the finish. That's why it's not necessary to come back so aggressively. But that was his decision and the consequence is that two Ducati riders scored zero points."

Meanwhile, the day's winner Jorge Martin was laughing all the way to the bank. Thanks to his success and the retirement of his biggest rival Bagnaia, he now leads the World Championship by 18 points from KTM rider Brad Binder.