ALEX MARQUEZ BLAMES A SMALL ERROR, NOT RAIN, FOR SEPANG SPRINT CRASH

Alex Marquez says rain was not to blame for his crash while leading the Malaysian MotoGP Sprint. The Gresini rider had started from pole and controlled the opening stages of the 10-lap race, with Ai Ogura behind him, before falling at Turn 13 on lap two and losing a chance to fight for victory.

Rain fell for much of the Sprint, but Marquez described the cause as a minor error rather than the conditions. “I didn’t crash because of the rain; it was a really small mistake,” he said. In the heat and on a low-grip surface, he added, “everything was so close to the limit that even the slightest mistake can cost you dearly.”

Marquez admitted he had not expected to fall at that corner. He wondered whether taking pole earlier in the day had made him too confident, or whether he had been overly optimistic. “I raced with my heart instead of my head,” he said. “A small mistake that cost us the chance to fight for the win until the very end.”

He nevertheless identified Turns 13 and 14 as the circuit’s most difficult section because the track surface is breaking up in several places. The spot where he crashed, he said, is “probably the most critical corner in terms of track conditions” and the place where riders are pushing hardest. For Sunday, he said, the task would be to manage that section better.

The crash was high-speed, but Marquez reported that he was physically fine. He also made clear that his right shoulder, injured in his Catalunya collision with Pedro Acosta, was not involved: “The shoulder wasn’t the reason I crashed.”

Marquez is considering surgery on the shoulder next week. If he goes ahead, he would miss the Qatar Grand Prix, a race he has been among the most vocal riders in opposing. The injury was not worsened in the Sprint fall.