Marquez-Diggia incident: the VR46 Racing Team's reaction

Fabio Di Giannantonio clinched his second consecutive MotoGP pole at COTA—his third in the premier class—by capitalizing on Marco Bezzecchi’s slipstream during his best lap. Unfortunately, Marc Marquez spoiled his Sprint, with a contact that dragged him down at Turn 12.

The Americas GP Sprint race delivered one of the tensest moments of the weekend with Marc Marquez’s crash—an incident that also forced Di Giannantonio to retire. The reigning MotoGP champion tried to gain ground in a technical section of the circuit, but the maneuver ended in contact. Marquez lost control of his Ducati after attempting to overtake Di Giannantonio, taking the Italian down with him in a crash that instantly ended both of their hopes in the dash.

The move was quick, on the limit, and left almost no time to react. A clear example of what it means to race in the sprint format: maximum intensity from the first lap and zero margin for error. Fabio was on the ideal line, had almost no time to respond, and inevitably both GP26 Desmosedicis ended up on the ground. A MotoGP Saturday to forget for the Borgo Panigale manufacturer, which was counting on the Texan track to slow Aprilia’s charge...

Unsurprisingly, there’s frustration in Valentino Rossi’s garage over the missed opportunity. Diggia’s pole had hinted at another podium for the fluorescent yellow squad and instead... The VR46 Racing Team manager, Pablo Nieto, spoke afterwards on the world TV broadcast, stating he was “not in agreement” with Marquez’s maneuver and considered it “not feasible.” “In the end, when you lose a race like this because of overtakes like that, we don’t really agree with this move.” When later asked whether Marquez’s move deserved a penalty, Nieto replied: “I hope so.”

In the team’s official statements, Fabio Di Giannantonio tried to immediately put what happened with Marc behind him. “We had the potential and the opportunity to win the Sprint, but it wasn’t possible. However, I don’t want to focus too much on the episode in the Sprint. I have a lot of positives to look at for myself, for the team... When it’s like this, it means you’ve got a great package. We’re strong, the results speak for themselves.”