Marquez-Bagnaia incident, who is to blame?

The clash between Alex Marquez and Pecco Bagnaia was the talk of the town on the evening of the Aragon Grand Prix. While Pecco Bagnaia went into the weekend as the championship leader, he leaves Spain feeling unfair, and 23 points behind Jorge Martin.

To recall the facts, engaged in a fight for third position, the n°1 approached the first corner of a chicane (turns 12 and 13) in the wake of his rival. Under pressure for a few laps, Alex Marquez then made a mistake, and went wide. Trying to get back on track to best negotiate the right-hand turn that followed, the Spaniard found himself between the kerb and the GP24 of the reigning world champion.

It was then that the two men touched, and before ending their race in the gravel trap. The incident could have ended much worse, since Bagnaia found himself under Marquez's Gresini for a while, miraculously only slightly injuring his shoulder.

A deliberate maneuver?

In the press conference, the two protagonists of this race incident – ​​unsurprisingly – absolved themselves of any responsibility. Pecco Bagnaia, more aggressive, even went so far as to accuse his opponent of the day of having intentionally caused this fall.

"What happened is clear. It is even clearer with the television images, says Bagnaia at the microphone of DAZN. He went wide. I had the perfect line. I gave him a bit of space, because I knew there was no need to close the door in that situation. When I entered the corner, I heard his engine. He was putting a little gas on. Today, a driver decided not to let me finish the race.

Telemetry shows it. He held the accelerator at 70% until the moment of the fall, He continues. He clearly crashed into me. It's a bit of a weird move for a rider to make. In the end, we both fell. We were lucky it ended there, because I was under his bike."

Podium battle ends up in a collision! 😱💥@PeccoBagnaia and @ alexmarquez73 find themselves crashing together as they were fighting for P3! 😲#AragonGP 🏁 pic.twitter.com/ZPtejcpu1N

— MotoGP™🏁 (@MotoGP) September 1, 2024

Bagnaia rushed according to Marquez

For his part, Alex Marquez, more moderate, dissects the situation. Starting with the mistake he made. The number 73 then assures that he did not see Bagnaia coming to overtake him.

“I went a little wide in Turn 12 because we were both pushing the limit, He says. Once inside Turn 13, when my head was already straight and I had no vision outside, I felt a contact. The bike, the wings and everything went straight and I couldn't do anything. I was just trying to see where the wall was. We were going straight towards it and it was a complicated moment."

"He can talk, I can talk. In the end, nothing will change the outcome, adds the brother of the winner of the Aragon GP. I think if anyone could have avoided that contact, it was him. He knew I was there. He could have passed me at another time. Without rushing. If he had left me a metre and had not gone towards the inside line, there would have been no contact.

Bagnaia – Marquez, the war of the clans

Other drivers, such as Aleix Espargaro and Marco Bezzecchi, have spoken out about the incident, not hesitating to firmly defend their respective compatriots.

In all the testimonies of the Marquez clan, we find the argument of the lack of space left by Bagnaia. Those who defend the interests of Bagnaia advance the intentional nature of the maneuver of the Iberian.

Arguments whose objectivity must be questioned when we know the friction that the VR46 Academy drivers have with the Spanish clan. Following the clash between Marquez and Bagnaia in Portimao, similar speeches were already made.

From the point of view of the images, it is indeed clear that Bagnaia leans on the front wheel of Alex Marquez while trying to negotiate his turn without losing too much time. This has the effect of straightening up the machine of the Gresini rider. The latter therefore had no other choice but to get up, pulling straight to take the two machines out wide.

If we rule out the hypothesis that Alex Marquez acted deliberately, we must conclude that the number 1 did not leave enough space for his opponent. The fact that the latter chose to sell his skin dearly is naturally justified by the fact that Marquez had great hopes of finishing on the podium with his older brother.

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