Marc Márquez, fresh off his Qatar Grand Prix victory, has admitted fault for a first-corner incident involving his younger brother Álex Márquez during Sunday’s MotoGP main race.
Starting from pole, Marc surged into the lead but drifted across Álex’s line at a lower-than-expected speed exiting the right-hander, resulting in light contact between the two BK8 Gresini Ducati machines. Both bikes sustained minor bodywork damage, but neither rider crashed.
“I tried to speak to Fabio [di Giannantonio] after the race,” Marc said. “But his team told me it wasn’t the right moment. I understand.”
Meanwhile, Fabio di Giannantonio, who has had several close calls this season—including one with teammate Franco Morbidelli—was less forgiving. The Italian expressed his frustration after feeling he was clearly ahead of Álex before being struck.
“The goal today was to fight with Marc,” said Di Giannantonio. “We were ready. I was clearly in front of Álex and got hit hard. It was a mistake—but at the MotoGP World Championship level, these mistakes are unacceptable.”
He continued: “Maybe you accept it in Moto3 or Moto2, maybe from a MotoGP rookie. But not here. That move put me in danger. If I had gone down, I might be in the medical centre right now instead of speaking to you.”
The incident didn’t stop Marc from taking the win, but it added another layer of tension to what’s becoming a tightly contested and dramatic season.
