Márquez Rejects the Accusations, Bezzecchi Avoids Controversy: The Exchange After the Contact

The Ducati champion triumphed in the Lusail Sprint and has a chance to win his 10th title in the main race: he does not feel at fault for the contact with Bezzecchi.

There was plenty of action and controversy in the MotoGP sprint race at the Qatar Grand Prix, which ended with Marc Marquez taking the win. The 12 points allow him to extend his lead in the overall standings, putting him 49 points ahead of Jorge Martin. On Sunday, he can be crowned world champion for the 10th time in his career if he wins the main race, though his Aprilia rival would also have to score no points.

Ducati’s number 93 was also at the center of an incident that sparked plenty of debate: contact with Marco Bezzecchi at Turn 1 on lap four, which sent the Italian rider crashing. The FIM MotoGP Stewards Panel reviewed the incident and ruled that no penalty was warranted. The anger in the Aprilia garage was palpable, and they believe a sanction would have been the right call.

Marquez spoke to Sky Sport MotoGP to discuss what happened, rejecting any suggestion that he was at fault for the contact: "I was in front; I didn’t do anything unusual in that corner. I simply think Bezzecchi was half a second faster than me, and I don’t know whether he expected to pass me on the inside there. But I brake late at Turn 1, run a little wide, come back, pick the bike up... If you watch the helicopter footage, I do the same thing every lap, whether I’m on my own or have another rider behind me. When I saw a bike coming up the inside, I stood mine up sharply. I’m the one with the least reason to make contact, given my better position in the championship standings".

The nine-time world champion continued, also bringing up his crash with Bezzecchi at Mandalika in 2025: "There was contact, and my airbag even deployed. It was a very similar incident to the one in Indonesia. He’s got a lot of speed this weekend, he’s incredibly fast, and he’s carrying so much corner speed that he’s half a second quicker than everyone else. I could see that from the very first race".

Bezzecchi also spoke to Sky Sport MotoGP and gave his account of what happened, without taking aim at Marquez or the Stewards Panel: "I’m disappointed, but there’s no point dwelling on it too much. We need to get back to work and try to get everything sorted for tomorrow. I tried to hold my line; I saw Marc run a little wide, and after the contact I was the one who ended up on the ground. I don’t know what the Stewards Panel was thinking, and it would be a waste of energy and time to speculate: the decision has been made, and I just have to respect it and focus on tomorrow. Getting angry or making a fuss wouldn’t change anything. You’ve all seen the footage, and everyone can judge it as they see fit".

The Aprilia Racing rider added further details to his post-sprint analysis in Lusail: "Our bike’s characteristics help too, but I can hold a tighter line through the corners. There was a bit of a battle, and I managed to get into his slipstream and stay close; I saw him brake hard and knew he would run a little wide, so I simply tried to hold my line. Then, during the corner, I couldn’t even see him; my head was down and turned toward the inside. At one point I felt a little bump and found myself on the ground. What can I say?".

-> Seguici anche su Instagram: @Corsedimoto