Alex Marquez admitted “maybe I was too confident” after crashing out of second place in the German Grand Prix, taking full responsibility for an error that ended what had otherwise been a strong weekend at the Sachsenring.
The Gresini Racing rider started the race from second on the grid and spent the early phase applying pressure, but said he couldn’t get close enough to attempt a move. His race ended at the end of lap nine of 30 when he tucked the front of his Ducati into Turn 13 and slid out.
The crash meant Marquez conceded “at least 20 points” on Sunday, a costly outcome after qualifying on the front row and finishing second in the sprint despite not being fully recovered from a collarbone injury.
What Alex Marquez said about the Turn 13 crash
Asked to explain the incident at the final corner, Marquez pointed to two areas of the circuit where he felt he was struggling, and suggested overconfidence played a role in the mistake.
“I don’t know. Honestly, I did a small mistake trying to… Maybe that T4 today was quite fast and I was maybe too confident in those two points, and I made that small mistake,” he explained.
He also highlighted changing conditions compared to earlier sessions, saying the grip level was lower and the bike felt trickier to manage. “It’s true that the grip level was a little bit lower today and everything was more tricky. So, just that,” Marquez said.
While he mentioned wind as a possible factor, he ultimately framed the crash as rider error. “I don’t know if the wind had some effect there, but it was more of a mistake,” he said, adding: “It’s true that I’m upset and quite sad with that crash, but I’m really happy with the overall weekend.”
Marquez also linked the incident to where he is physically after returning from injury. “Coming from an injury and now it looks like we have the speed, but still I need some race rhythm to accept all that speed and to accept all that performance. So, I still need a few more times to again be 100%,” he said.
The German GP was only his second full weekend back after missing three grands prix following a shoulder break at the Catalan Grand Prix. Marquez said his physical limitations were leaving him stiff on the bike, which in turn affected how he loaded the front end.
“In those corners, I don’t help too much with the bike to turn. I’m too stiff on the bike, so I put too much weight on the front,” he said. “I think that also was a problem for the crash; that was a reason for the crash.”
Looking ahead, Marquez set a clear target for the next phase of the season, with a gap of four weekends before the next round at Silverstone on 9 August. Asked whether he could be fully recovered after the summer break, he replied: “I will try. This is my target.”
“Step by step, I’m close to my 100%. I hope that after the summer break in Silverstone, I will be at 100% – if not, surely later on,” Marquez added.
How the weekend shaped up against Marc Marquez
Before Sunday’s crash, Alex Marquez had emerged as Marc Marquez’s closest rival at the Sachsenring. The factory Ducati rider took pole position and won both races, while Alex Marquez narrowly missed pole by 0.061s and finished Saturday’s sprint 0.368s behind.
Alex Marquez was expected to mount an even stronger challenge in the grand prix, but his crash — along with another early fall for a fellow Ducati rider — left Marc Marquez able to “cruise” to his third victory of the season.
Asked whether he felt he had a better chance of winning on Sunday than in the sprint, Alex Marquez said the situation was broadly similar to Saturday, describing how Marc Marquez built his pace progressively.
“We were more or less at the same point as yesterday. He started quite relaxed and then he started to put his rhythm step by step,” he said.
Alex Marquez explained he was trying to manage tyre temperatures and preserve the rear while staying in touch. “I was able to give him a small space, just for the front tyre to not overheat. But that training for me was really, really good. I was just trying to wait and trying to save the rear tyre,” he said.
However, he believed the attempt to make up time in specific areas contributed to the error that ended his race. “But maybe I forced too much of the front on those two points to gain the time that I was losing in the other ones. So, just that. Small mistake, but quite painful,” Marquez said.