Alex Marquez slams Silverstone Turn 1 safety after British MotoGP crash

Gresini Ducati MotoGP rider Alex Marquez says he is “angry” at how unsafe he feels Turn 1 at Silverstone is after his crash during the original start at the British Grand Prix.

The Silverstone sprint winner went into Turn 1 leading the grand prix on Sunday when he crashed as soon as he started to lean into Abbey.

Marquez slid across the asphalt run-off area while his Ducati slammed into the barriers.

He was able to restart the grand prix when it was red-flagged moments later due to an oil spill, and went on to salvage a fifth-place finish from a tough Sunday.

Marquez said there is no gravel in the right place at Abbey and believes he could have faced serious injury had he been going faster, likening it to the crash Carlos Tatay had in a European Moto2 race at Portimao in 2023.

Alex Marquez crashed before restarted British MotoGP

Explaining his crash to media including Crash.net at Silverstone, he said: “The devices and [I was] too optimistic.

“But today, on safety, I want to be quite critical. When I crashed in that point there was not gravel in that point.

“So, same like what happened in Portimao to Tatay, and I was really close to the wall.

“My bike went to the wall and me know for [no more than] 15 metres.

“So, we need to avoid those moments and we need to make decisions and check that because Dorna has there own safety commission.

“So, they need to be a bit more awake on that point. So, they need to do things before things happen. So, I’m quite angry about that.”

He added: “I’m not saying that it’s too much runoff area of tarmac.

“It’s that in the last part it’s gravel, but not in the point we can crash.

“I was really lucky it was the start. But if that happened to me going in a flying lap, I arrive to the wall with the bike. So, super dangerous what happened.”

Alex Marquez: "I was in a bad way with no confidence"

Marquez struggled for pace initially at the restart as he went back onto the medium front tyre he crashed on.

He says this was his decision as he didn’t feel that the soft front - which eventually won the race with Marco Bezzecchi - would last.

“I crashed on the first lap, so later on I was really in a bad way, with no confidence,” he explained.

“The decision to go with the medium was my own decision.

“We speak with the team and always it’s a team decision, but I was pushing more for the medium.

“I was worried that the soft can’t finish the race or it was a possibility to destroy the right side of the tyre. So, I decided to go with the medium.

“Maybe it was not the right choice, but we are P5 and need to see the positives.”

Alex Marquez is now 25 points off the championship lead, but says he was “lucky” on Sunday to salvage the result that he did.