MotoGP | Portuguese GP, contact with Bagnaia, Marc Marquez: “Pecco is too optimistic”

MotoGP Ducati Gresini – The MotoGP class Portuguese Grand Prix saw Marc Marquez and Pecco Bagnaia as protagonists despite themselves.

With three laps to go the eight-time world champion attacked the #1 Ducati, who at that moment seemed to have less. The fight was for fifth place, but Bagnaia responded to the attack and their paths crossed.

Result: both down and no points in the standings. The two were then summoned by the race direction, who appear to have judged the action as "race contact". Here is the thought Marquez expressed to the microphones of Sky Sport.

Statements Marc Marquez Contact with Bagnaia GP Portugal MotoGP 2024

“It was a racing accident, two drivers crashed. It was bad for both of us not to get points. I was calm, I had waited for my moment, Pecco was suffering, I would have overtaken him shortly after, I was faster. He crossed paths and we touched. There was a calm atmosphere heading into the race, it's a red line situation, it's not a penalty for Pecco, these are things that happen. For me, if there is a contact on the first lap or fighting for a podium or a victory, it can happen. This year I use my head more, what I can say is that we were fighting for a 5/6th place, they were a point or two more, maybe Pecco was too optimistic. These things happen, now we're doing the reset. This weekend I was very fast, I crashed three times, but not because I was pushing too much but due to automatic mechanisms that I still have to understand. Even in the warm up I slipped when I lost my foot on the footrest at turn three. As for the advantage of starting from the front, I've been saying this for two/three years and not just me. When you're behind the tire pressure goes through the roof. A thought on Acosta? He made a lot of overtaking, he drives instinctively, it's nice to see from behind."