Moto2 News
From the looks of things after the Moto2 free practice sessions in Qatar, Marc Marquez was on his way to a great debut performance in Moto2.
The 18-year-old Spaniard then qualified his Team Catalunya Caixa Repsol machine second on the grid, 0.207 of a second behind Stephan Bradl.
But when the lights went out for the opening round of Moto2 at Losail International Circuit, the reigning 125cc MotoGP Champion Marquez had a bad start, letting the clutch go too early.
He was forced to increase his pace due to being filtered back to 11th. But Emilio Alzamora's pupil sped into ninth by the second lap, and then sixth on lap four. But during the fifth lap, Marquez slid in Turn 5, high-siding the Repsol Moto2 machine.
Despite the harshness of the crash, Marquez walked away unhurt, but wasn't able to restart the race. Due to the DNF, Marquez didn't acquire any points in Round 1 of 17 (No Moto2 at Red Bull USGP, Laguna Seca) in the Moto2 championship. As for the race, Stephan Bradl won at Qatar, joined on the podium by Andrea Iannone and Thomas Luthi.
Marquez will now prepare for the first of four races in his homeland besides Catalunya, Aragon and Valencia, the Spanish Grand Prix in Jerez on April 3.
Marc Marquez (Repsol Moto2) says: "I'm fine, though I'm angry with myself because the team had done a great job for this Grand Prix. I want to apologize to them. In the free practice sessions I felt really well on the bike, but I had a bad start and I wanted to recover too fast. As they say, you always learn the hard way and this crash will be a lesson for me.
"The first mistake was at the start and then I made the second, to rush. I am really angry because we were doing such a good job.
"I was worried about the start and the front of the bike jumped. The crash was when I was going out of the corner, as I opened the gas too early. The warm-up being yesterday is no excuse, as it is the same for everyone. We still have many kilometres ahead to learn and today the overeagerness to do well took its toll. I am certain I will learn from that mistake. It was a pity, as I had a good pace. Anyway, I hope everything goes better in Jerez."
