Marquez: New aero made accidents harder to save

Marc Marquez believes that bigger aerodynamics were a factor in his record 29 falls during his final MotoGP season at Repsol Honda.

Peter McLaren

11 Dec 2023

Marc Marquez crash, Tissot sprint race, MotoGP, Malaysia MotoGP, 11 November — Marc Marquez crash, Tissot sprint race, MotoGP, Malaysia MotoGP, 11…

Marquez topped the 2023 MotoGP falls list despite being absent due to injury for three complete weekends and two other grand prix races, out of the 20 rounds.

While Marquez has never been afraid to push his RC213V to its limits - as illustrated by his falls per season since joining the premier class, see below - he is also famous for being able to save numerous front-end moments.

But the eight-time world champion revealed that such recoveries became much harder after the mid-season introduction of a larger fairing, to generate greater downforce.

"In the past, I could save those falls. Even last year. But this year, especially since we have put the new aerodynamics, I am not able to,” explained Marquez, who openly admitted to taking fewer risks after a spate of early-season injuries.

“Yes, [the performance] is a little better, it seems that we are a little faster [with the bigger aero], but the bike is a little more unpredictable when you fall or not.”

Some believe the sudden change in downforce when a bike drops during a front-end slide makes such moments harder to recover from.

Whatever the cause, Marquez also pointed to the similar crash tally of his team-mate Joan Mir, who joined Honda from Suzuki this season and finished the year second on the falls list with 24 accidents.

“Both Joan and I [fell] more than normal, especially when we tried to force the bike,” Marquez said.

Marquez felt the only way to avoid being caught out was to leave a larger safety margin, or not push as hard, which he discarded as not an option for either Repsol rider.

"If you don't force [the bike]... fine, but I think Joan has the same mentality as me. He is a world champion, is pushing on the track and always giving one hundred per cent."

It will be interesting to see if Marquez can tease the limits of his new Gresini Ducati in the same way as his earlier Honda years.

Marc Marquez – MotoGP falls per season