At the German Grand Prix on Friday during practice, Honda rider Marc Marquez collided with Johann Zarco, shattering the unfortunate Frenchman’s Pramac Racing motorcycle and sent him flying.
Zarco was turning around as he left the pit lane to let Marquez pass, but the Honda rider locked up his front tire and lost control of his bike, crashing into Zarco’s Ducati just in time for the Frenchman to respond.
Marquez swiftly leapt to his feet to make his way back to the pit lane as Zarco crashed heavily to the ground next to the wrecked pieces of his bike. The session received a red flag right away.
However, when the practice was reopened, both riders were allowed to get back on the course. Marquez, who has won eight times at the Sachsenring in his MotoGP career, was unable to finish a lap in time and will enter Q1 on Saturday.
Marquez, though, resisted accepting responsibility, declaring: “If I’m a guy who makes a mistake, I say it’s my error. This time, I’m upset since Johann was the one who could have prevented it, if anyone.
“The guy that is coming out of the pit lane is the guy who needs to watch behind. And if somebody is coming, especially in the last minutes, you need to stop at the pit exit.”
Zarco said it was a “racing incident” but added he was not impressed when Marquez did not even bother to check if he was OK and refused to take the blame for the crash.
“He could have at least come when I was on the floor. I can understand he wanted to run to his (spare) bike to get another lap time, but because of the red flag he could have seen it was OK,” Zarco said.
“I like the way Marc is riding and the way he is pushing. He is a champion, but he’s losing a bit of control when he speaks. He should think twice before speaking because just having the idea to say that it is my fault is not acceptable.”
