Marc Marquez suffered his first crash as a factory Ducati rider during the final minutes of Day 2 at the Sepang MotoGP test. Attempting a time attack, he improved his personal best in the first two sectors before crashing at Turn 9, the same corner where Francesco Bagnaia fell last season. Marquez walked away unscathed but did not return to the track.
Before the crash, Marquez had logged nearly 780km on Ducati’s Desmosedici, including testing in Barcelona and Sepang. His adaptation to the new bike was impressive, completing 54 laps on Wednesday and another 45 on Thursday before his fall.
Despite the incident, Marquez’s pace was promising. His best time on Thursday (1m58.447s) was slower than Wednesday’s 1m57.606s, but his limited flying laps and longer stints focused on race simulation rather than outright speed.
Marquez’s crash tally has been a major talking point throughout his career, with a record 29 crashes in 2023 on Honda’s difficult RC213V. Even after switching to a Gresini Ducati last season, he remained among the most frequent crashers, finishing the year with 24 falls.
Although his Sepang crash disrupted his session, Marquez has shown strong progress on the Ducati. His ability to adapt quickly suggests he will be a serious contender once the season begins.
