MotoGP Riders React to Francesco Bagnaia-Alex Marquez Crash

The 2024 MotoGP title fight took another twist in Aragon as the seemingly unflappable Francesco Bagnaia could do very little right.

The scene of one of his best MotoGP wins, which coincidentally was his first victory in MotoGP, Bagnaia was victorious at Aragon in 2021 when he beat Marc Marquez in a thrilling head-to-head battle. A total of 14 overtakes took place on that day between the pair, however, it was clear from very early in the weekend that Bagnaia didn’t have an answer for Marquez this time around.

In fact, Bagnaia didn’t have an answer for title rival Jorge Martin either although it was still a shock to see Bagnaia’s weekend unravel the way he did. Terrible starts in both races left the Italian needing to perform a big comeback, which he failed to do in the sprint as he was even beaten by the Yamaha of Fabio Quartararo.

In the Grand Prix, Bagnaia did bounce back after his poor start as he reeled in the riders ahead of him. But when he arrived at the rear of Alex Marquez, that’s when the title fight took another twist.

After losing the series lead to Martin during Saturday’s sprint, Bagnaia then saw a 20-point swing go in the Spaniard’s favour on Sunday when he clashed with Alex Marquez. Both riders immediately hit the deck after contact was made, while Bagnaia was caught under Marquez’s bike for a portion of the slide into gravel.

To no one’s surprise, the accident was a major talking point straight after the race, even in the face of Marc Marquez winning his first race in over 1,000 days.

Leading the reaction, Marquez said: “I think that Alex went wide. He was on the track, but when you arrive in that right corner, he didn’t expect to have Pecco [Bagnaia] there. Pecco was optimistic to overtake him from the outside, trying to use that clean line, because if you go out on the dirty line everything becomes more risky. It was a very unlucky situation.”

Martin, who was second to Marquez in both races at Aragon, also reacted to the collision, saying: “It’s difficult. You should ask Pecco [Bagnaia] and Alex [Marquez] [what happened]. For sure, it’s difficult to see because also there was a lot of dust on that side, so I think Alex couldn’t lean more, like what happened to Joe Roberts in Moto2 (Roberts crashed on the final lap while battling American Racing teammate Marcos Ramirez), and finally there was contact. Hopefully, they are okay because it seemed after the crash they were close to the bikes, so I hope they are okay for the next race.”

If you’re a neutral fan of the sport, you’re likely to see the collision as nothing more than a racing incident. And the more replays I’ve personally watched, it’s hard to argue against that being the correct decision from the stewards. But does that tell the full story? Perhaps not.

What is clear is that Bagnaia was coming through regardless. The two-time defending world champion was riding, not angry, but with a determination that wasn’t going to let him allow Marquez to recover in front of him.

But that in a way forced Marquez’s hand because the Gresini rider, who was still ahead as the bikes began to swap direction, was looking right in line with the natural flow of the bend. Bagnaia on the other hand was the rider that could see both the rider in front of him and the corner, yet he attacked around the outside with a purpose.

It could be argued that it was too late for Marquez to back out of the corner, and so by staying to the inside, there was inevitable contact. 

A former Ducati rider and now LCR Honda rider, Johann Zarco expressed his views: “Pecco has lost a lot, and it could be a similar situation to [Maverick] Viñales in Le Mans. [That was a racing incident] But also this one, because at the moment they entered the corner, Alex was not far back – he was maybe still in front.

“Pecco was in a better line, but it’s not because Pecco is in a better line that Alex has to say, ‘OK, I slow down and I wait for Pecco to turn the corner’. So I guess Pecco should have thought a bit more in consideration to where Alex was.”

But what did the two riders directly involved in the accident think of it all?

Alex Marquez, who felt attacked after the weekend, took to his social media to defend himself, saying: “After reading some statements I would like to explain the following: I would never deliberately crash with another rider and I will never accept to be charged with it, it is not in my DNA and it is not in the DNA of this sport.

“In my opinion, it's impossible that he didn't see me. I was already in front of him before changing direction. The most important thing for me is the conversation I had yesterday with Pecco and, from my side, the issue is settled. Now it's time to rest and recover my body to be at 100 per cent in Misano.”

Bagnaia doesn’t hold back!

While most of the riders who spoke about the incident had fairly calm views about the clash, Bagnaia was livid following the race. The factory Ducati rider was not impressed by Marquez and felt the Spaniard was totally to blame.

“As soon as I entered the [next] corner [13] I heard his engine opening. He was opening the throttle. So he was trying to arrive at this contact, Bagnaia told MotoGP.com. “I wanted to look at that data... He remained with 60 per cent, 40 per cent of the throttle open until when he crashed. So this is very strange for a rider, I think.”

He then followed that up by saying: “My view is the view of everybody that has a normal point of view in terms of racing because it's quite clear what happened. He was wide, I was in front with much more speed. I entered that corner without closing the line because I knew he was there. But my speed was enough to overtake him without any problems. And as soon as I entered the [next] corner [13] I heard his engine opening.

“He was opening the throttle. So he was trying to arrive at this contact. I wanted to look at that data... He remained with 60 per cent, 40 per cent of the throttle open until when he crashed. So this is very strange for a rider, I think.”

To see Marquez win in Aragon was not a surprise, to see Martin finish second and regain the series lead was also not a surprise, but seeing Bagnaia have such a difficult weekend certainly was a shock.

Luckily for Ducati, it wasn’t Bagnaia and Marc Marquez, who are set to become teammates next season, that came to blows - could you imagine! Bagnaia has now been involved in collisions with both Marquez brothers this season - Bagnaia and Marc Marquez collided in Portimao earlier this year - and both times it resulted in a crash for both riders.

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