“I couldn’t breathe for 15 seconds…” – Marquez on wild Thailand crash

Marc Marquez has revealed just how lucky he was to get away with simply bumps and bruises after a spectacular airborne crash during the 2019 Thailand MotoGP event, a race he’d go on to win just two days later.

The Spaniard headed to the Chang International Circuit in Buriram on the cusp of a sixth MotoGP world championship, but threw it all into jeopardy when he lost the rear of his Repsol Honda on an out-lap in FP1 and was flung over the handlebars before landing heavily.

Such was the ferocity of the accident, Marquez recorded a huge 26G impact which necessitated a trip to the hospital for check-ups.

Nevertheless, Marquez returned to the track to compete in FP2 and two days later secured the race win he needed to put the championship out of his rivals’ reach.

Even so, the Spaniard admits the crash – which has had longer-term implications of a shoulder injury that needed surgery over the winter – was a concerning one because he couldn’t breathe for some time directly afterwards.

"I realised that this was a big one because basically it was impossible to breathe for 15 seconds," he told CNN. "This was the most dangerous thing. And then I didn't remember exactly what was going on. So for that reason, the doctor takes me, and we had a deep scan in the hospital."

Marquez is no stranger to big accidents, while he often ends the year having accumulated a higher than average fall rate compared with his rivals.

For the most part though Marquez has managed to avoid serious injury, even if he admits it’s not possible to ‘learn’ how to fall without issue.

"[People often ask] are you training, or how can you train for when you crash? It's impossible. We just try to prepare our bodies. For example, now that we are at home, we are stretching, stretching a lot. 

“Because it's something important, to work the muscles. And then you need to realize that you are a professional rider, and you need to take the risk."